An Odd Life
by DannyPhanto fan
Summary: Sequel to "What if Julie Yamamoto Died?" At about chapt 11 though i lose control of the plot bunnies.
1. Chapter 1

_**An Odd Life**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Ben 10**_** and/or **_**Ben 10: Alien Force**_**, they belong to Man of Action and Cartoon Network Studios. I do however own every other character you're introduced to.**

**Notes: I'm sorry to say that at about Chapter 11 the rabid plot bunnies had to be appeased and I sort of lost track of the plot a bit. I am really sorry. Please forgive me! [CRIES]**

Ch 1

A large shadow darkened the street, blocking the full moon as the creature flew silently, gracefully as glowing green eyes scanned the rooftops and yards. Suddenly it swooped down catching a gopher who had strayed too far from the relative safety of its' burrow. The talons swiftly severed the spinal cord as the creature gained altitude once more.

It looked like an overgrown owl, standing as tall as a preschooler, its wingspan six feet. Dark brown feathers covered it, with a darker patch running down its' spine and flaring out to its tail. A patch of the same color also ran the length of its stomach. Its' talons were pitch black, the feet too. Its' beak matched. Bulbous emerald, slightly eerie, eyes stared through the darkness with incredible ease as it found its roost and perched atop a sturdy branch before setting to its' meal. The beak opened and the hypodermic needle like tongue struck out into the carcass, injecting a substance that would liquefy the internal organs, veins, and vessels in seconds. Then the tongue needle sucked the insides out of the empty shell before discarding the meaty outside like trash.

The creature, which was certainly not of this world, stared into the window of the human it guarded and smiled internally. She was safe and sound asleep, wrapped in a white wolf's pelt, not even nightmares disturbing her unconscious form.

The leaves rustled ominously and a lithe but blocky form snuck from the brushes to the door. The creature screeched and dived once more, talons thrusting forward as weapons.

"_**F***ing bird**_!" the would be thief swore as he tried to fend the creature off. It wasn't to be deterred though as it circled and dived again and again; the thief had to drop his tools of the trade and run blunderingly through the brushes of his entrance. The creature seemed smug as it returned to its' branch only to find the human up. She was looking out the window to it's' branch, eyes frightened and wide if not half asleep.

"Whhhhoooo." The creature assured, ruffling its feathers somewhat proudly. Her eyes narrowed in angry recognition and she mouthed, "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Its' head bobbed up and down as if in agreement, "Whhhhoooo."

She huffed and rolled over, her back to its' unnatural gaze. It whooed as if chuckling.

Soon the sun rose and the creature left, returning to its' home and true form. In a bright green flash the creature disappeared as a young man took its' place. He walked up the pathway to the door with a gait that told his mind and soul was far older than his physical form. He trooped into the house to take a quick shower and then just as quickly got into some fresh clothes before grabbing his schoolbag and jogging out the door grabbing his keys, calling in reply to his mother's "Breakfast?" "Nah, I'll grab something on the way."

His car was a black SUV, unusually equipped on the inside though inconspicuous on the exterior. The windows were tinted from the outside though crystal clear from the inside. The seats were in his favorite shade of green, extra safety harnesses hidden tastefully in the design. The causal passers-by could not know that in the, already built in, storage compartments were stowed weapons that could make even the toughest Navy Seal piss his pants just at the mere sight of them.

He carefully checked his rear before backing out of the garage, the driveway, and into the street, heading down the road at the lazy pace of twenty-five miles per hour. He stopped by the Coffee Hut to buy an espresso for himself and hot chocolate for his usual passenger. He chuckled darkly, most sixteen year olds couldn't stand the bitter flavor of the coffee he drank and the woman at the window had been most surprised the first few days he ordered it but soon had his order waiting for him to pick up as soon as he came into the drive-thru.

She, his passenger, was waiting for him at the end of her driveway and smoothly slid into her seat, buckling up before reaching for the cup of warm liquid with a murmured, "Morning Ben."

He chuckled again as they pulled away from the curb, "Good morning Julie."

She eyed him curiously, "How can you be so…_**chipper**_ in the mornings? Especially since you sit outside my window all night, every night?"

Ben laughed once more, pointing to his cup, "Caffeine is a miracle of nature, plus the serotonin and endorphins from my snack last night have yet to recede completely."

Julie grimaced, "Yeah, Dad found your_** 'snack'**_ this morning. It's really freaking him out; he thinks there's some kind demon out there…"

"Nope, just the friendly neighborhood morpher."

"Well I can't just go up to him and say, 'Don't worry Dad. Ben just gets hungry while he stalkerishly watches me as I sleep while he's in the form of an alien owl which feeds on the liquefied inners of his prey'… that would _**NOT**_ go over well."

"I'm not a stalker," he defended himself, "I just—"

"—Worry," she finished his thought for him, "I know, I understand. But this isn't healthy for you—"

"—I'm fine," he assured. She decided to use his weakness against him, "Ben, what if you collapse from exhaustion? Any enemy who's smart will take the opportunity to hurt me…"

He stiffened, "Alright, I'll get Gwen to keep an eye on you while I take a nap."

She sighed at the mention of a babysitter, but let it pass. The future he came back from was one she died in and he was desperate to prevent and/or avoid any way her life could end; he freaked while she cut her own pancakes for Pete's sake! So she couldn't really get mad with his coddling, but she was getting very frustrated with it.

They soon pulled into the Juniors' parking lot at the school and he got out, hurried to her side of the SUV, opened the door and helped her down the foot high drop to the ground. He scanned the neighborhood for any and all potential dangers, using an Anodite ability, before gently guiding her onto the school grounds when he was sure of its safety.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

He guided her, with a gentle hand to the small of her back, to her locker. He stopped her and advanced upon the locker as a SWAT member might a psychopath with a gun, knocking on the door before carefully opening it and retrieving her books slowly. He warily opened each book, inspecting the pages and inside covers for abnormalities before he handed them to her. Julie had waited patiently about ten feet back knowing he was checking for bombs and/or tracking devices planted by their enemies during the weekend.

Then they headed to their first, shared, period; he guided her to their seats and school began.

His stomach rumbled but he ignored it, he would hunt during the morning break. There was a surge of rats and mice around the campus that needed to be taken care of soon. He licked his lips in anticipation; humans truly had no idea of the tasty morsels they missed out on. His eyes gleamed with a wild bloodlust as he gazed at the board but didn't really see it. Julie nudged him, "What's going on? You have such a weird look in your eyes…"

"Nothing," he replied, "just thinking, d'ya think it'd be okay if you spent break in the Library?"

"Why?"

"Just need to get breakfast."

She turned a bit green, "That's sick. Just go to MacDonald's or something and order a human breakfast."

"No," he shook his head, "too much time to leave you unprotected for. It's safer for you this way."

"Whatever you say." She spoke softly with an eye-roll.

"Please don't act that way." He asked, "Please understand."

"Oh I do," she snarled lowly, "you're gonna kill yourself because you don't want anything to happen to me!"

The bell rang and he pulled her into the crush of the halls before turning to her and saying, "Without you I'll die anyway," he said firmly, "I don't care what happens to me but if anything ever happens to you again I better be dead and rotting or I'd never forgive myself. I will not let that future come to pass, no matter what it costs for me or my life."

His eyes were emerald fires, burning into hers with an intensity that they should not have been capable of that she shivered under his gaze. He turned away, his hand still tight on her shoulder. He led her to the next class, silent and brooding; she sighed, it was going to be a long day.

----

He felt the hot wind currents beneath his wings lifting him towards the sun as he circled the school. The owl's eyes scanned for a meal. Ben had stopped naming his forms years ago, years into the future from this point in time. They were neither pets nor toys and thus were not to be named like such. His eyes narrowed and he went rocketing down like a bullet. There was a whistling sound as he plummeted through the air, twisting and turning. At the last possible second he pulled back, thrusting his talons forward to catch his treat by the spine thus killing it humanely before pumping his wings to get altitude once more. He ate on the fly, dropping the husk of flesh into the dumpster before landing in the field and turning back to his normal self. He dusted his clothes off, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his lips of any remnants of his repast before stuffing it back into his pocket and heading towards the library and Julie.

His peers, mere children to him now, paid him no mind as he walked at a quick pace. This was an advantage of being one of the non-popular persons; no one paid you any attention. He found her where he had left her, tucked away at a little table, hidden by age riddled shelves and the musty books they held.

"Can I come out now?" she pouted slightly. He nodded, helping her gather her books just as the bell for class rang. "You got the phone?" he asked her lowly; she nodded, "And the pistol."

He escorted her to her class before speeding to his own; he often sat in the back so he could monitor her stats. He could also be privy to her thoughts but he only used that ability if something worrying came up. To read her mind would be a personal privacy violation against her and she deserved better than that from him. Though he glanced at the minds of the students around him, he was always made sure not to pry too deeply or to be noticed.

'_Man she's hot!_' a young man in the front of her class thinking about the substitute teacher. Ben got a mental image of the sub and cringed, disgusted.

'_I hope Grams is okay!_' thought the girl anxiously that sat five seats from the young man.

'_Soon they shall all see!_' thought the class nerd angrily, probably hunched over some jock's math book, '_I shall be Dungeon Master and they shall all suffer!_'

But none of the thoughts were potentially dangerous and/or life threatening towards her so he settled into his work, content with hearing the steady thrumming of her pulse echoing in his mind's ears.

He easily completed his work, by tapping into the geniuses of his DNA bank, and reclined his head, beginning to doze lightly while he had the time.

_**The darkness faded, leaving him on the battlefield. He immediately began fighting, instinct kicking in as his mind caught up to his surroundings. Highbreed and DNAliens were everywhere, fighting his allies; Gwen, Kevin, Paradox, Azmuth, Alan, Darkstar, Cooper, Ship and...Julie! His heart started racing; no, not again. This **__**WASN'T**__** happening again, this **__**COULDN'T**__** happen again. He hurried to dispatch his opponents, still keeping an eye on her fight, but they just kept coming at him. Until she fell; it had been a punch to the chest, impaling ribs into her lungs and heart. She fell, eyes glossing over as life fled her. **_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he sat bolt upright and found himself in the Nurse's Office. Julie was at his side, her hand clasped in his. She looked at him with worried eyes, "You okay?"

"Yeah, what happened?"

"We're not sure…the story I got was that you fell asleep in your class, began mumbling and then convulsing like no tomorrow, fell from your seat to the floor and began moving as if you were fighting something…security brought you here, pulled me out of class, they called an ambulance but you shouted no and then woke up. You had a nightmare didn't you?"

"Yeah, it was the final battle…the first one…" he squeezed her hand tightly, "It was…horrible. I had to watch you…_**fall**_ again. I couldn't help you; I felt so worthless, so helpless just watching you fight that-that- _**monster**_!"

"Is this why you don't sleep? These dreams?"

"You don't need to worry about me Jules," he gave a small smile and another squeeze to her hand.

----

He sat on the branch outside her class; he had been released from class early because of his fit but leaving her unguarded was not an option. His form was that of an alien who appeared to look like a crow except for the third eye in the middle of its forehead which he kept closed.

He was hidden by foliage, his dark plumage blending with the forest green leaves. There was a green flash and a catlike creature now sat perched in the crow's place. Almond eyes, lilac irised but without pupils, narrowed in interest. The creature was about the size of a normal housecat but sleeker and with six toes on each paw. Its' coat was spotted, white dots on a black background, yet two parallel white streaks, one starting at the very tiptop of each triangular ear, zipped down its' spine to its' bobbed tail. Its' claws were poisonous, causing immobility, coma and then death in the wrong doses. He stalked down the branch, standing on his hind feet he latched his claws into the tree's trunk and began dragging them down it, leaving indents in their wake. The bark and wood began sizzling, liquid bubbling from the marks.

He stalked down to a better viewing spot and settled in for the long haul. She glanced out the window and caught sight of him. Her lips pressed themselves into a thin line and her eyes narrowed. He just grinned, his eyes unblinking.

Suddenly there was the fluttering of wings and a lump of blue fell from the sky and into the, thankfully, empty football field. He took of after it, finding three young Big Chills. Two were conscious and were supporting a third, unconscious, one. A knot of unease formed in Ben's gut as he went back to human, racing to them.

"Dad!" one called upon seeing him approach, "Thank God! She's sick!"

Ben's speed increased and he immediately began to assess his—as much as he couldn't wrap his mind around it—daughter's state.

"Symptoms?" he barked out at the conscious two.

"Uh, sneezing, coughing, headaches, seizures and now unconsciousness." replied the first one.

"How long has she been sick?"

"As long as we've been alive." said the second.

"A year?!" Ben yelped almost angrily, "And you're _**just**_ bringing her home _**now**_!?"

"Sorry Dad, but she didn't want us to bring her here at all!" the second told him.

Ben picked her up, carrying her as he walked, "C'mon, we gotta get you guys inside."

"Um Dad?" spoke the first, "we can't stay here…"

"We gotta get back into space…" finished the second.

"Fine, tell the others I said hi, they have my love, and to be safe."

"Will do." and they took off.

"AND DON"T TALK TO STRANGERS! AND LOOK BOTH WAYS WHEN CROSSING A KNOWN SHIP LINE!" he called after

Ben, carrying the unconscious alien child—his child, headed home at a run.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

He situated her in the guest room, having explained to his parents who and what she was to him and them. Cooper was heading over as he watched her sleeping. Her pulse was strong and her breathing even, unlabored. But he was still worried; he was a 31 year old in a 16 year old's body, he had to _**act**_ like a normal 16 year old, he had to guard his girlfriend against his enemies, and now he was about to embark on probably the scariest mission of his life; _**fatherhood**_. And he was scared shitless!

The blonde haired pudgy genius came through the door, medical bag in hand. He immediately was at her side and checking her stats, "How long has she been out?"

"I'm not sure. They dropped her off like this. Her siblings did. Said she's been sick for over a year, sneezing, coughing, headaches, seizures, and now unconsciousness."

"Ah," he withdrew a syringe and a vial of some sort of liquid; he filled the syringe with the fluid and injected it into a vein, "She should wake up any second now. She has a common cold exacerbated by her mixture of human and Necrofriggian DNA. The others are probably pure Necrofriggian."

"Okay what do we do?"

"My advice? Raise her on Earth. She's coming around…"

"Urgh…where am I?" she groaned.

Ben was at her side immediately, "You're at home sweetheart, you're safe at home."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah it's me."

"Ben, just normal cold medicines for children," and Cooper left.

"Sweetheart do you have a name?"

"No, we don't use names. Should I have one?"

"Yeah, but let's worry about that later okay?"

"Kay. I'm sorry Daddy."

He smiled softly, "It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay."

There was a knock on the door and a voice called, "Can I come in?"

He smiled, "Sure Julie, c'mon in."

She came in silently, smiling at the child, "Hi I'm Julie."

"Hi Mommy."

Both humans stilled.

"Did I say something wrong?" the girl asked innocently.

"No, no sweetheart," Ben rushed to assure, "but why did you can her that?"

"Big Brother said so," she replied simply, "Can I call Mommy 'Mommy'?"

"It's okay," Julie agreed before another knock came and, ""Ben, it's Gwen, Kevin's with me, can we come in?"

"Sure thing."

"Auntie Gwen! Uncle Kevin!" the child said happily.

"Hey runt," Kevin greeted genially, "Heard ya staying on Earth from now on."

"I am?"

"Yes," Ben said firmly, "you've got human DNA so we think it's best if you stay here.

"Will I have to stay inside? Because of my alieniness?"

"Nah," Kevin spoke, "I'll get cha a cloaking device, early birthday gift," he winked. She giggled and turned to the redhead, "You're really strong right?"

"Not really," she replied flushing.

"Oh don't be modest Gwen," Julie and Ben laughed, before Ben continued, "She's one of the strongest people we know."

"Cool!"

----

A Week or Two Later

The girl decided on the name Maxine and Kevin forged the needed papers. Julie was shown a different side of Ben though, amazed that he had surpassed her already very high expectations of him.

Maxine was already well on her way to being enrolled into elementary school, being caught up on reading and math skills by Ben who worked tirelessly with her. She was watched during the day by Kevin, spent the afternoon with her 'parents' and bonded with her Tennyson Grandparents, occasionally the Yamamotos who had been let in on Ben's secret, and the newly returned Max who was delighted to have a great granddaughter already, during the evening before an eight sharp bedtime.

After eight it was Ben's and Julie's time together and at ten he escorted her home, setting the perimeter defenses before he returned home.

He rarely slept anymore; the nightmares haunted him if he did. Instead he worked as a telemarketer (for "Michelle's Marvelous Miracle Medicines") and translator, the second facet of his employment made possible by a Plumber translator headset set for Earth languages.

"Hello Madam," he spoke into the microphone, pausing for it to translate into Spanish, "I'm with Michelle's Marvelous Miracle Medicines and would like to ask you, how are you feeling tonight?"

It wasn't the best job and it didn't pay all that well but it allowed him to add to his savings' account along with half his Plumbers' pay; the other half went to expenses like gas and rent.

Yes he paid rent. He had explained to his parents about the whole I-came-back-from-the-future-so-my-mind-is-that-of-a-31-year-old-in-a-sixteen-year-old-body thing and that he felt the need to contribute to the financial matters of the household. They had assured him that he didn't need to; technically he was still sixteen as in a minor under the law's eyes as in he was still their responsibility but he had argued his case and they had finally conceded but assured him that if he couldn't make the payments there would be no repercussions. Yet he had made all his payments on time.

He signed off from the headset and stood up to stalk the house. Nights were hell for him. If he fell asleep the nightmares would come, they had mutated lately. It wasn't just Julie who died, but Maxine as well and he couldn't handle that. He stopped in the doorway of her room, he was going to spend the weekend decorating the room like she wanted, and looked upon her slumbering form with soft eyes.

Maxine had been a surprise; they had all be expecting her to take after Ben or even Gwen but she seemed to take the most after Julie with whom she shared no DNA. She was amazingly brightly intelligent, picking up on the basic academic skills in no time. Yet she was also athletic and flexible, almost like a professional acrobat and that wasn't saying anything about her flight and maneuverability skills!

They had found that she had the natural ability to shift into her own human form which looked like the ten year old Ben would have if he had been a girl. Her brunette hair was to the small of her back and large green eyes peeked out from beneath her bangs. But she still preferred her birth form and they were all okay with that. It was her natural form she now slept in.

He smiled softly, shaking his head in disbelief. She was a blessing to his life.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

He had just dropped off Maxine at Kevin's and had pulled up to Julie's to find she wasn't out waiting for him like usual. He fought down the irrational bout of panic and stepped out of the car, locking it up before he pulled out a small laser pistol and entered her house.

"Julie?" he called loudly as he entered. The house was immaculate, making him even more uneasy. He advanced to her room and entered only to find her still in bed, surrounded by Kleenex, with her cell in hand.

She looked at him in surprise, "I was about to call you," she spoke with a tired voice, "I'm not going to school today."

He stowed his weapon and looked at her before going to her closet and grabbing the emergency bag she always had packed in case he got exposed and they needed to run. He came back to her bed, morphing into Four-arms before picking her up into his top set of arms and heading back to his car telling her, "You're staying at my place while you're sick."

"My parents!" she gasped.

He shook his head, "I'll explain that you're sick and I wanna keep an eye on you."

"They won't accept that."

"Yes they will," he grinned down at her, "I can use my Jedi mind tricks on them."

She giggled but began coughing afterwards.

He opened the passenger door and set her inside carefully, threw her stuff into the back, before changing back and getting into the driver's seat. He made her seat recline, "Take a nap kay?"

"You can't boss me around," she told him, snuggling into her pelt blanket and closing her eyes.

"Sure I can't…"

Soft snores began emanating from her form and he smiled.

They soon arrived at his place but instead of waking her up he just picked her up and carried her to his room where he laid her out on his unused bed.

He then got out his cell and dialed his comrade, "Hey Kev. There's been a change of plans, you can bring Maxi home."

"Something serious up?" The other young man asked.

"No, no. Just Julie's sick that's all."

"Roger. We're on the way."

"Thanks." Ben hung up.

"Ben," Julie's weak voice said and he found her staring at him, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, why'd'ya ask?" he inquired.

"You always get this haunted look in your eyes when you talk about Maxine or are with her…"

"Oh," he sat on the edge of the bed, "That. That is guilt showing up, and regret and sorrow…"

"Over what?" she laid a weak, but reassuring hand on his shoulder, "You can tell me…"

"Remember health class? How they told us that drugs or smoking, either first or secondhand, can harm a fetus during its development… In the future I came back from, Big Chill went through its' cycle. When I first noticed the signs I became clean but… when I laid the eggs they didn't hatch…I guarded them day and night, I turned them, I did everything I could but they just wouldn't hatch…I—I brought them to Cooper, thinking perhaps they were just duds but—" his voice trembled and broke, tears running down his cheeks.

Her eyes widened in shock before sympathy flooded them, "Oh Ben…"

"He scanned them all and then sliced one open just to make sure…it was so…the embryo—my son was so deformed…he wouldn't have survived even if he had hatched…his intestines were outside his navel for god's sake; his heart was crushing his lungs which were only half formed anyway. His brain—his brain was cracking his skull by force…he would've been half blind, partially deaf and possibly epileptic anyway as some parts of his brain were undeveloped or undersized, and probably confined to a wheelchair as the cerebral cortex and spinal cord were malformed…" he gave a sob before continuing, "I bought the plot next to your grave and I made the coffins myself by hand…six tiny caskets… I didn't name his siblings but I did name him…Brian Tennyson. I carved the plaque by hand, it said simply "Kids—Never given the chance at life, I'm sorry" and then I did my damned drugs again… If I wasn't a druggie they would've had a chance…I'm so sorry…I failed them…" he broke down.

"Ben," she spoke as she pulled him down to where he was crying against her chest, "Ben, its okay. Nobody blames you; _**they**_ don't blame you; I'm pretty certain that wherever they are they love you to death; you made a mistake, a fatal one but it was a mistake. You weren't healthy, mentally or physically. You need to absolve yourself of the blame you give yourself…"

The door opened and Maxine called out, "_**Daddy**_?! Why are you crying?!"

She clambered up onto the bed and wiped away her father's tears, saying, "What's wrong Daddy?"

He sniffled and rolled to his back, pulling her tightly to his chest in a hug, "Nothing Sweetheart, don't worry about me kay?"

"I'll always worried about you Daddy, just like I'll worry about Mommy," she said sweetly, "because you're my Daddy and she's my Mommy and family always takes care of each other no matter what!"

He gave a small watery smile and hugged her tighter before setting her down by Julie as he got up, saying, "Mommy doesn't feel well today; why don't you stay here and keep her company while I go get her some soup?"

"Kay Daddy." She settled down, "Can we watch movies like a sleepover?"

Both young adults grinned as he nodded, "Sure, what movie?"

Maxine turned to her mother saying, "You can pick Mommy."

"I can?" Julie smiled as she poked playfully at the girl's stomach, "Gee I dunno; howzabout a Disney Princess Movie Marathon?"

"Yeah!"

"You heard her Ben," Julie laughed, "Disney movies."

"As you wish miladies." And he bowed his way out.

"Is Daddy really okay Mommy?" Maxine immediately asked.

"He's had a harder life than someone as good as he is deserves—ACHOOOOOOO!"

"Here Mommy," Maxine handed her the Kleenex.

"Thanks sweetie; anyway he made some very—ACHOO—bad mistakes and feels very bad about them—ACHOO—he'll tell you about them when you're older I'm—ACHOOO—sure."

The door swung open and Ben trooped through with a tray laden by DVDs and a steaming bowl of soup. Julie automatically put herself into a sitting position as he handed her the soup and tray before he plopped down on the floor saying, "Okay as for movies; you gotta choose which for the first, we got; Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Pocahontas II, Aladdin, Mulan, Mulan II, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast…"

"Beauty and the Beast!" Julie called out and Maxine nodded happily, "Yeah! Beauty and the Beast!"

He gave a suffering sigh saying, "Alright, alright Beauty and the Beast it is…" he fed the disc to the player and pressed play before shifting into the cat-like creature, taking the remote into his mouth before jumping up onto the bed and curling up between the girls, handing Julie the remote. His lilac eyes watched the screen even though the alien could only see blue, purple, white, black and dark green.

Maxine stroked his fur, making him purr; he rolled to his back, pawing the air as she rubbed his belly. Until a noise from the living room caught his attention. He flipped back over and stilled, only his ears twitching before he leapt off the bed, morphing into a battle form in mid-air and stalking out the door. It was a big-cat form, looked like a saber-toothed tiger with a cheetah's body and a leopard's spots. Golden yellow eyes glared around as the square muzzle scented the air.

An unknown scent pervaded the area, infuriating him. His lip curled into a vicious snarl with a warning growl. Movement! There! He pounced on the intruder, catching him by the leg and pinning him beneath his own massive weight as he called, "Julie! Call the police!"

The talking cat holding his leg made the prowler pass out; Ben rolled his eyes, "_**Pathetic**_!" He turned back to human, healing the bite marks with a wave of his hand. The cops soon arrived and took the thief off his hands, taking him to the asylum as he was babbling on about a giant talking lion.

He padded back to his room to find Julie and Maxine both asleep. He smiled and took the empty bowl and tray out to the kitchen before returning, covering them up, and transforming back into his small cat form at which point he jumped to the foot of the bed where he kept watch. He also mused silently; occasionally his ear twitched back to catch a snore and he inwardly grinned as he heard them.

He thought about what he was thinking about doing; proposing to Julie. True she was young and, physically, so was he but they were both mature beyond their years (fighting in a war tended to force you to mature) and he felt they were ready, but what about she? They were sophomores, it was nearly the end of the school year but they were still sophomores. She turned seventeen in a few weeks. He used to hate it, that for two or three short months she would be older than him; but now, knowing what he did and having lived how he had, he found himself shaking his head at his stupidity.

He turned back to human, having made up his mind, and stood up, crossed the room, and rummaged around in his desk before finding the small cubical box he was searching for. He opened it quickly, thankful to see the silver locket still nestled in it before he snapped it shut and moved to wake Julie.

"Jules, Jules, wakey-wakey…please? Just for a minute…"

She stirred, "I was sleeping," she whined softly; he chuckled and replied, "I'm sorry, but I needed to ask you something…I'm impatient right now…"

She sighed, "What's up?"

He dropped to his knees, holding out the box and asking, "Marry me?"

She stared, stunned, before quickly rubbing at her eyes and pinching herself just to make sure this was reality.

She gently nudged Maxine onto the pillow, off her, and sat up, ignoring the head-rush followed by the throbbing of a dull headache.

"You wouldn't tell me if this was all an illusion concocted by an enemy of ours and I'm really unconscious even if I asked right?"

"Probably not," he grinned, "but I can assure you this is real."

"You'd say that even if it wasn't," she reminded him, "but I'll say yes anyway. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah." He put the box on the side table and helped her get settled. He was about to transform back to the cat form when she called, "Oh and Ben? You get to tell my father."

He paled considerably.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, adjusting the sack he carried, before he rang the doorbell.

Her mother opened it, her eyes filling with dread once she saw how somber he was.

"May I come in?" he asked, the woman gulped and nodded, standing aside to let him pass, closing the door behind him.

"What happened?" she asked automatically. He stared at her, "What do you mean?"

"Julie is missing," she told him anxiously, "We've been assuming she was with you and you look like someone died…"

"Mrs. Yamamoto," he said apologetically, "I'm sorry I've made you worry without need. Julie is perfectly safe at my house with my cousin and Maxine. I came to pick her up for school this morning, I found her sick, and removed her to my house where I could care for her."

"Thank god."

"Is Mr. Yamamoto home, I have to speak to him."

"Yes, he's in his office. Follow me…"

She led him to the small home office; Mr. Yamamoto looked up from his laptop, "Hello Ben; have you seen Julie?"

"Yes sir, she's at my house with my cousin and Maxine; she has a common cold, I've been caring for her…Sir, I have to speak to you, about Julie…"

"Sit down and shoot." Mr. Yamamoto said pointing to an empty chair. Ben did as asked, placing the bag he carried at his fee, and started, "I've asked Julie to marry me without asking for your permission and blessing first so I apologize for my impertinence on that subject…"

"Apology accepted," the older man nodded, "I thank you for admitting your mistake; I understand."

The young man visibly relaxed.

"Oh good…" he let out a breath of relief, slouching a bit, "here I thought I had made this harder than it needed to be…As I said I've asked Julie to be my wife, she has agreed; I know I wouldn't be your first choice for her simply because of my profession and…_**uniqueness**_, but I wish to allay your fears of her safety."

He bent forward, reaching into the satchel he had brought and withdrawing a finely spun glass orb which sat on intricately molded iron legs, "From my grandmother's homeworld; this sphere will allow you to view your daughter no matter how far away she is or behind what barriers she's tucked." He handed the older man the globe and dug into the pouch once more, pulling out his second gift; a cell phone, "This mobile phone is an emergency only phone; I am sorry to say knowing me has put your family in a awkward standing in regards to your safety, this phone has four numbers; my own, my grandfather's, my cousin's and her boyfriend's, if you call any one of them it will alert the corresponding badge or in my case the Omnitrix. I do not feel the need to impress upon you the enormity of the faith the Plumbers have placed in you. For if this phone were to fall in the wrong hands, Earth would be left defenseless."

Mr. Yamamoto nodded as he shakily took the second token of goodwill and trust between the two of them.

"My third gift to soothe your worries is only my word," he spoke seriously, "I swear to you, Mr. Yamamoto, two things; I will not intimately touch your daughter until she wishes it; that as long as I or my bloodline still breathe she will be safe. I give you a binding blood oath." He withdrew an engraved, with symbols unearthly, silver knife from the sack and slashed his palm open. Cradling his bleeding hand he removed a piece of parchment and allowed his blood, a rainbow of colors, to drip upon it. Quickly elegant handwriting formed from the fluid, his spoken vow being bound to paper.

"There." he said as it dried before he rolled it up, "If I have lied or if I forsake my guarantee this page will go up in flames and I will have broken numerous, very ancient laws and am legally targetable by you or Julie's blood-kin." He handed the scroll to Mr. Yamamoto.

"Flames?!" the older man squeaked, eyeing the roll warily. The younger man's hand had already healed.

"Oh, no Mr. Yamamoto, I did not make myself clear enough; it will only burn this paper which my blood has touched. Mr. Yamamoto I have enacted very old powerful energies in binding myself to my own words; it would be a very poor gesture on your part if you don't accept it. I intend your family no harm."

"Can I get that in blood as well?" Mr. Yamamoto joked as he took the page.

Ben didn't laugh but his eyes twinkled in amusement as he stood up, "I must be getting home now; Julie will be staying there until she has a clean bill of health for my enemies will seek to take advantage of her illness."

Mr. Yamamoto stood as well, sticking out his hand, "We understand. Thank you."

Ben smiled, reaching out to shake hands, "No, thank you Mr. Yamamoto. You truly don't know what anguish you've spared me."

There was a flash of green and a horse-like creature loped from the room, through the back door and off the premises before an eagle-like creature was sighted soaring above the city.

----

"_**KKKKKKRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_" the eagle creature cried as he tilted towards the normal looking house. A window opened and he soared through it, landing and turning to human in his room.

"Mommy's throwing up." Maxine informed him bluntly, "Uncle Cooper's been here, says she has a 24-hour bug."

"Right. You, page 109 in your English workbook."

"Uhhh! _**Daddy**_!"

"Don't whine, go do it; we're hoping to get you into a private school in a few weeks."

"I don't wanna go to school; I wanna hang with Uncle Kevin!"

"Go do the page now; you are going to be enrolled in a school, you are going to go everyday because you are not going to be a Null Void parolee nor are you going to be a Plumber! You will get a proper education and you will get a normal earth job."

"Earth to Daddy! I'm not human; by earthly standards I am NOT _**NORMAL**_! I AM AN ALIEN—"

"YOU ARE AN ALIEN _**HYBRID**_! YOU HAVE _**HUMAN**_ DNA _**SOMEWHERE**_ IN YOUR DNA CODEX!" he bellowed.

"I DON'T LOOK _**HUMAN**_; I DON'T FEEL _**HUMAN**_! I AM _**NOT**_ _**HUMAN**_!" she shrieked.

"THAT'S IT! GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!" he shouted, losing his temper with her.

She stuck out her tongue and unfurled her wings, taking flight, "_**WALK**_ TO YOUR ROOM!"

She ignored his order and slammed her door shut.

He stood there, hands fisted, fuming silently until he heard a groan and with a jolt he wheeled about and sprinted towards the bathroom, the door banging open as he entered. He found her curled around the toilet bowl, hair in a pony-tail, ashen-faced.

"Oh my god Julie! I am so sorry; I was coming and then Maxi and I fought…"

"Yeah, I heard…"

He knelt and scooped her up, wincing as she groaned. He cradled her to his chest as he carried her back to the bed, doubling back for a trashcan.

He grabbed a rag and froze it with a blast of icy breath, using it to wipe her sweaty face down. She chuckled, "Well this bites."

"What'd'ya mean?" he asked as he used the cloth to trace her lips gently, washing away any trace of vomit.

"I'm sick and you're stuck playing nurse to me."

"I don't mind," he assured her.

"I'm taking up your bed," she protested before holding up her index finger, bending over the side to puke before sitting back up and smiling at him. He moved to clean her face yet she snatched the cloth from him.

He stood dumbfounded before sitting on the edge of the bed, "I don't use the bed and I don't mind making sure you're alright."

She smiled, "I know you don't but it always seems like you're going to have a nervous breakdown if I even sneeze. You're going drive yourself mad with worry over me and I don't like the idea of that."

He averted his eyes, yet she placed her hand over his continuing, "I know you're terrified of losing me, but I won't leave you without one heck of a fight okay?"

"Okay, sorry."

"Don't apologize because you're afraid of something."

----

It had been a 24-hour bug, meaning Julie was up and about the next day. She returned home the next night, after Ben double checked and upgraded the perimeter defenses, and life went on just as it always had; the only difference being she now wore, with pride, the silver locket.

Inside the locket was a spiral design of a rainbow of colored crystals, which seemed illuminated by an internal glow that made the motif sparkle and flicker.

The opposing side was engraved with an unknown phrase in an alien alphabet. Every time she asked what it meant though he flushed and changed the subject hurriedly so she did wonder, but she trusted him so she wasn't too worried.

He, for the most part, had calm down though he still checked their lockers for bugs and/or explosives after the weekends and he absolutely refused to take more any time for himself than he needed to eat, drink, relieve himself and/or sleep a few hours. Of course for him to sleep peacefully she had to be in his house under the watch of Gwen, Kevin, or Grandpa Max; though he never slept enough in her mind.

But she had a plan to change that; it was 9:50 and Ben was getting ready for another sleepless night, getting ready to take her home when she surprised him, "Parents said I could spend the night. You need a good night's sleep Ben and you won't do that unless you know I'm safe so why not?"

He looked at her flabbergasted, mouth hanging open. He set his jaw correctly and in a flash of green light he changed into his Anodite form.

"We need a bigger bed," he explained, "and for that I need to have a bigger room."

His midnight blue energy flew out to cover everything in the room. The building moaned and shook as the room expanded into the backyard. Pillars of manna sprung up to support the roof as its foundations grew outwards. A glass-like box surrounded the human young woman, "In case things start crumbling," he told her, "almost done."

Everything stilled and quieted; the room was twice as big as it had been; he snapped his fingers and the bed extended in width to where it was a king-sized bed. He turned back to human, went to his dresser, pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a baggy shirt before leaving the room for a few minutes, returning in the clothes he took with him. They climbed into the bed; he automatically threw about her waist, pulling her close before quickly dropping off into a much needed sleep.

She smiled softly as she watched his young, yet wise, face become untroubled. The lines of worry evened out as he fell deeper into the land of nod. She yawned, snuggling deeper into his embrace, dropping into slumber herself.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

The next morning Ben woke, feeling more rested than he had in years. He had gotten a full nine hours of sleep, undisturbed by his usual nightmares. His dreams had been surprisingly pleasant during the night and he had no doubt that it was because of the young woman he held.

He watched her with soft eyes, wondering what in the universe he had done to deserve her.

"Had a good night's sleep?" her voice asked, startling him out of his musings. She was smiling up at him with warm eyes.

"Yeah," he replied ducking his head to kiss her briefly, "thank you."

"No problem, what time is it?" she twisted her head around to glance at the clock witch read 7:07.

"You still tired?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

He then grinned an impish grin and his fingers began twitching towards her sides; "Oh no!" she whispered, trying to hide in the covers, "Please, please Ben don't! I'm BEGGING HAAAAAAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE!" she shrieked as he tickled her mercilessly. Her limbs flailed as she began fighting fire with fire so he positioned himself over her, straddling her waist as he continued the tickle war.

She sought out his ticklish areas and found them undefended causing him to cackle; even as she continued to laugh as well. He only stopped his attacks when she began to turn blue, he fell to the side again just as Maxine came in.

"You're awake!" she spoke, having switched from rebellious-preteen-mode to sweet-daddy's-girl-mode after their fight, "why are you two still in bed? Daddy, you promised to make chocolate chip pancakes this morning after Nana and Papi were gone and they are!"

"Alright, alright," he said as he got up, "I always keep my promises." He rounded the bed to scoop Julie up into his arms.

"Put me down!" she giggled.

"Nah uh," he replied as he carried her out the door and to the kitchen with Maxine trailing behind them. With a raised eyebrow, the little girl spoke, "You two're acting funny."

"Funny how?" Julie inquired after been placed in a dining room chair.

"Too happy!"

"_**Too**_ happy?" Ben echoed bemusedly as he mixed the batter.

"Well, ever since I came home all I've ever seen you as Daddy is panicky, sad and serious all over our family and friends; Mommy you've been worrying over him because he's been worrying over us. Now Mommy spent the night and you're both happier then I've ever seen you two. It's just _**weird**_, okay?"

"I just got a good night's rest sweetheart," her father explained, "I can only sleep well when I know your mother's safe. Having her spend the night allowed me to know she was safe thus allowing me to relax enough to get the rest I needed." He crossed the room to grab the mini chips and mixed them in.

"Oh. Well why doesn't she just move in then?"

"It's not that simple Maxi," the young woman said.

"Why not? Daddy will be able to sleep more than he does now…beside's you're gonna get married anyway right?"

"We're only engaged," Ben told his daughter as he poured the batter into the pan, "we're still a little young to move in together by normal standards… occasional 'sleepovers', on the other hand, are okay."

"That's stupid. You guys aren't normal!"

"You know she's right," Ben mused, "we aren't normal by human standards…you could move in Julie; until I get a house built on the land I've bought, 4 square miles of land on the edge of town before you ask, Maxi and me are kinda stuck living here…" he began flipping the cakes deftly, catching them just as easily.

"How long should the construction take to be done?" Julie asked, weighing her possible choices and their consequences.

"Two, three months at most," he replied plating the flapjacks 6 flaps high on each plate, squirting maple syrup onto them, before carrying the three plates to the table; he had turned to Four-arms to do so, "Add on another month or two for Cooper and me to setup and calibrate the defensive and offensive systems… about five or six months altogether."

"I'll talk to my parents about some sort of arrangement then," she said, "maybe I can spend half the week here and then half the week there or something."

"That could work," Maxine spoke around a mouthful, "Gramps and Grams can't freak that much, Daddy already did a Blood Bind Vow for them and Daddy'll be able to sleep a lot more."

She turned to her father, "Daddy, can I go visit G-G Max?"

"If he's okay with that, you need to call and ask; you'll also need to go and stay in your human form if you go, understand?"

"Yeah Daddy; when will I meet G-G Verdona?"

Ben choked out of surprise and had to administer the Heimlich on himself, then replied as his eyes were watering, "I dunno, she drops by every once in awhile, why'd'ya ask?"

"Because I found I can do this…" she raised her hand and turquoise energy surrounded it before shooting out and shattering a glass pitcher, "…Daddy, you okay?"

He was catatonic from shock, jaw hanging.

"He's just surprised," Julie said quickly, "how long have you been able to do that?"

"Couple weeks," the girl replied, pushing aside her empty plate, "it started in my room after I got into that fight with Daddy. When I hung out with Uncle Kevin the next day I made him get angry at me so I'd get upset to see if I could repeat the trick, I did and he got it to where when Aunt Gwen gets out of school early she'll start training me. I asked them not to tell you guys because I thought Daddy'd get upset…"

"Why?"

"He wants me to be as human as possible; these powers aren't human, they're my Anodite heritage showing up. My chances of living a pretty normal earth life are plummeting closer to zilch with every new power I develop."

"How many powers do you have?"

"Not counting my 'Big Chill' powers which are a given; I can turn human for awhile, I've gotten Anodite powers, I can duplicate myself up to four times—" she demonstrated, producing three shadowy Maxines before they evaporated, "they're not supposed to be vague like that but they're becoming more solid every time I try— I can use Echo-Echo's sonic cry, I can make myself grow or shrink six inches…"

"So Big Chill abilities, Anodite, two Echo-Echo powers, some Humongasaur," Ben, having been listening, ticked off his fingers with a disappointed voice.

"I'm sorry Daddy," she spoke.

"Not your fault, it's what nature gave you to use; how can I be mad at you for that? But I guess you can go into the Plumbers' when you're older, after you graduate college."

She smiled and nodded, jumping up with her plate. She dumped that into the sink and took off to the nearest phone.

Ben turned to Julie, "Do you have any plans for your Saturday?"

She nodded, "Go home, talk to my parents, pack some essentials, and then maybe head out to the courts to get some practice in…"

He nodded, "Talking of tennis courts…would you like your own court?'

"Why do you ask?" she inquired; he shrugged, "I bought four square miles of land, needed to for some necessary Plumber related structures and items that non-knowing normals shouldn't see but we'll still have some land left over. So a tennis court?"

"How are you paying for all this?"

"Paradox allowed me to go back to the future in which you died so I could clean out all my off-shore accounts along with my on-shore ones; apparently I was richer than I realized in the monetary sense, over 15 million dollars. While I've invested over half of it into companies which are going to make it big in the next five to ten years and put aside a considerable amount for Maxi to get upon her 21st birthday, I put most of it into building an estate where I and my children or my comrades will be safe in allowing ourselves to be our alien selves and can monitor Earth and Earth's space for threats. But there will be you in residence at all times, hopefully, so I want to give you an area for you to go to get away from all the weirdness if need be and yet be somewhere safe. So tennis court? Or greenhouse with exotic plants maybe? A pond with some fish and ducks? All three? Name it and it will be built."

"Really?"

"Yep. But I need your choices within the next two weeks."

"Okay."

She stood up and deposited her plate into the sink, heading to his room, saying, "Going to get dressed."

"Right," he was about to start doing the dishes when Maxine dashed out, "G-G Max says I can come over."

"You'll have to wait for awhile; now should you ever talk to strangers?"

"No, not unless they're firefighters, police, Plumbers' or doctors and even then I have to be careful."

"What if they say they know me or Mommy?"

"Call to confirm, if I can't then don't trust them."

"Good. Howzabout if a stranger grabs you?"

"Bite, scratch, scream, kick 'em in their private area, and if that doesn't work use my powers to get away."

"Very good."

-----

They were relaxing in the shade of a mighty oak tree; Maxine was at Grandpa Max's, arrangements for Julie's "sleepovers" at the Tennyson household had been made and a large suitcase of personal items and apparel now sat in the back of his SUV, waiting for their return home. She had bypassed practice in favor of getting him to sleep some.

His head was nestled in her lap as they sat on an old blanket; her fingers swept through his hair in a calming manner. He blinked blearily, yawning occasionally, "Are you trying to put me to sleep?"

She smiled guiltily, having been found out, "Yeah, was it working?"

He nodded drowsily, "Mmmh hmm," he hummed, before yawning, "D'ya mind if I nap?"

"Never."

He smiled as his eyes closed, muttering, "Wake me up if anything goes wrong, kay?"

"Sure."

His eyes popped open and he gave her a glare, "I'm serious! I don't care how little it is; I don't care if it's just a bug bite on your pinky, if _**anything**_ goes wrong wake me up!"

"Okay, okay; just sleep hero-boy, the world'll survive for awhile without you."

He settled back down, mumbling, "I don't care about the _**world**_, it's _**you**_ I worry about."

"I'll be just fine," she assured him, stroking his brunette locks once more, "just rest…"

"Fine." he soon began snoring softly, it sounded more like a low rumble emanating from his chest than anything else and had he been in any other form but human she'd have sworn he was purring. She sighed and reached for the book she had brought just incase her plot succeeded, holding it in front of her eyes with one hand.

Her other hand stayed connected with his body, knowing it was the only thing that allowed him to sleep peacefully. Her fingers touched his smooth cheek absentmindedly and she was surprised when his head turned towards them, searching for her palm. She laid it against his cheek and he calmed, settling into a deeper unconsciousness.

She smiled softly.

----

He nimbly caught the patties as he flipped them. The family barbeque was in full dysfunctional swing. The protective barriers were up and running, circling the backyard, its' low hum replacing the chirping of crickets.

He listened to the gigglings of his daughter as she tried to get away from Gwen, Grandpa Max, Julie, Kevin and both her Tennyson grandparents who all seemed intent on tickling her to death.

He opened his maw and a spurt of fire came forth, evening the burgers out. Maxine ran to him for refuge but he shooed her away, saying, "You've got powers, use them; gently."

She nodded and her greenish-blue energy shot out, causing everyone except Gwen to jump out of the way. The redhead simply absorbed the beam into a shield of her own, an eyebrow rising before a smirk settled on her lips, "Trust me kiddo, you're not ready to play with the big kids…"

Maxine matched her smirk, a light playing in her alien eyes, "Oh why not Aunt Gwen, after all you played with the biggest kid of them all."

"Your Great Grandmother handed us our butts on silver platters with elaborate garnishing," Ben called.

She grinned cheekily, "Well I guess you can hand me my butt then, catch!"

She shot off another beam that Gwen caught and flung back; Maxi took flight to avoid it, shooting hers like laser bursts, which Gwen took flight to avoid, using her manna like anti-gravity shoes.

"Such a newbie," Gwen sighed, "don't worry, I'll go easy on you…"

"Don't bother Aunt Gwen," Maxine called, as she looped through the air haughtily, "You against me; your Anodite power against my _**powers**_."

"You're on!"

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**_!"

Maxine cried, aiming the sonic howl in such a way to where her aunt would be thrown _**up**_ not down; it worked, shattering the energy barrier that the redhead had summoned in a desperate attempt. She was thrown up before she began falling until she was able to take control again.

"Not too bad."

"Thanks."

But Gwen had summoned a sphere of manna, the size of a basketball or soccer ball, and propelled it at her niece; Maxine cried again, shattering the globe before using her Anodite powers to push them back at their creator like flying blades.

With a quick movement Gwen dissolved them. Maxine filled her lungs before expelling an icy blast, Gwen dodged it and it went down to the watching audience, almost hitting Julie who was only saved by Ben tackling her out of the way.

"HEY!" he yelled at the duelers, "WE GOT HUMANS DOWN HERE! BE CAREFUL!"

"SORRY DADDY!"

"SORRY BEN!"

He shook his head before checking over Julie. When he had tackled her his momentum had kept them going and he had rolled them to where he took the impact of the landing.

He sat up, she in his lap, asking, "You okay?"

She rolled her eyes slightly, assuring him, "Yeah, I'm fine." He still checked her over as his dad assumed control of the grill. He still felt down her limbs and torso gently, his eyes narrowing as she winced when his hand ghosted across her right hip. Gently he pushed up her blouse and pulled the waist band of her jeans down enough to see a nice bruise forming in the layers of skin over the bone.

"Oh," she said softly, nonchalantly when she saw it, "I must've landed wrong. Don't worry."

Tenderly he laid his hand over the bruise and, tapping into one of his available powers, iced it. She shivered involuntarily, "You don't need to panic."

"I.C.E; first aid for bruises," he recited, "**I**ce, **C**ompression, **E**levation." He added pressure to his hand, pressing down as lightly but as firmly as possible.

"You're overreacting again," she told him, "it's just a small bruise; I'm not going to die any minute…"

"Don't even joke like that," his voice was tight yet pained. His green eyes were penitent, "Let me heal it, _**please**_."

"If you want to…" she sighed and instantly the hand on her hip began glowing with his Anodite energy. Immediately the discoloration shrank and disappeared, much to his satisfaction and relief.

He then stood up in such a way that she was helped to her feet at the same time. Just then Frank shouted "Food's done!" and instantly everyone was gathered.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

He walked her down the intimidating hallway, her grasp on his hand nearly cutting off the circulation. Her new school was a private one {Translation: One that would keep her secret and challenge her mental facilities as they grew at an unnatural pace} with a fairly good reputation but that didn't soothe the natural fear that the girl had.

That morning had begun early, at 4 am because she had been unable sleep due to nerves, with a pep talk from her parents and [Tennyson] grandparents over chocolate chip pancakes.

She gulped as she saw her father packing her new lunch box and began sweating bullets when her mother began helping her pack her backpack. Her stomach began churning as she got into the truck, 7 am, and watched her mother get into the green GTO. Her uncle came to the window and tried to boost her courage and she gave him a shaky smile as a reward. Her knees weakened when they arrived at the campus and when her father gave her his hand her grip was a vice.

"You'll love it here," he assured her, "You'll have a private teacher and as long as you stay in your human form no one will bother you."

"Then why can't the teacher teach me at home?" she whimpered, pressing as close to him as possible.

"You need to get to know your generation of humans. Now remember, you gotta keep our secret from them though alright? Only the principle and your teacher know. You are eight years old and are my niece. Your parents just died and I've adopted you."

She nodded, "Right, eight years old and an orphan."

"That's my girl," they stopped in front of a door of a small office, "Well here we are."

"Eep!"

"You'll be just fine, remember Kevin's picking you up when you get out. You got my cell, your mother's cell, your aunt cell, Kevin's cell, and Grandpa Max's right?"

She nodded as he opened the door. Her teacher was a pale young woman with black hair and crystal blue eyes. She smiled and held out her hand, saying "Hello, I'm Ms. Knotwood. You must be Mr. Tennyson and you," she knelt, eye-level with Maxine, "must be Ms. Maxine Tennyson."

"Maxi," Maxine squeaked, "I go by Maxi."

"Fine by me," Ms. Knotwood smiled, "I'm very pleased to meet you; your father's been telling me an awful lot about you." She stood up addressing Ben, "Don't worry, the arrangements have been made."

"Thank you Madam." He knelt, gathered his daughter into a hug, and said, "Maxi, I've to leave now okay?"

"Kay Daddy."

He let her go and stood up, leaving.

----

When he got to his car his cell rang, "Hello?"

"Benjamin Tennyson," a silky voice said, "I apologize for any inconvenience but the Forever King wishes an audience with you…"

"Well you can tell him to go shove whatever he's offering up—"

"That would not be a wise move Mr. Tennyson," the voice advised, "you never know when an _**accident**_ may happen to a loved one."

"You leave them out of this," Ben hissed dangerously, "I'll meet your king."

"Very good, in an hour then?"

"I'll show up when I show up."

"As you wish sir, just don't shilly-shally …" the line went dead.

Ben dialed hurriedly, "Gwen, get out of school now. I need you over at Maxi's school now."

"What happened?" he could hear her power disrupting the air.

"The Knights. I need you to hold down the fort over here."

"On my way."

He hung up and dialed Julie, "Get out of school now; Kevin's out in the parking lot keeping an eye on things. Tell him to take you to my place and have him stay there with you. Don't ask questions…wait have him go get your parents. If he asks what's going on say 'Forever Knights' he'll understand immediately."

"Right."

He hung up and dialed Grandpa Max, "Grandpa; can you pick up Mom and Dad and Gwen's parents then head to my place—Forever Knights."

"Sure."

He hung up and got into the car, pealing out of the lot. Fury pounded through his veins making his being ache to punish someone. He sneered; he had been too lax with the ridiculous organization that preached peace and chivalry. Not any more; they had just written their own death warrants.

He came to the main castle and walked in lazily, eyeing the guards who eyed him warily.

"I wish to speak with your lord." He announced to the page-boy who stood at the entrance of the great hall. The boy, who couldn't've been older than eight so he would be spared from the slaughter that would occur that night, nodded and opened the door.

Ben nodded, leaning over slightly to whisper in the boy's ear, "As soon as you shut the door behind me I want you to get away from here," he pressed a scrap of paper into the boy's collar, "say I want a soda or something, just get out. As soon as you pass the black truck find a payphone, use the fifty cents I put in there and call that number, say "Music Man" explain what I've said and my friend will pick you up and take you somewhere safe. Do you understand what I've told you?"

"Yes sir."

"Very good."

Ben straightened and entered, hearing the _**clunk**_ of the heavy doors behind him.

The king was surrounded by his honor guard as he sat upon his false throne.

"Ah, Ben Tennyson!" he looked absolutely delighted, "At last, I have some propositions for you to consider my good fellow."

"Listen, _**Milord**_," he spat the word, "I don't care about anything you've got to say; you've threatened my family so you won't live to see the end of this hour." He drew a sword of manna from thin air as the king frowned, "I've been shown you're exceedingly intelligent, do you honestly think you'll survive my knights?"

He smirked "Oh, I _**know**_ I will."

What happened next can only be described as what should only happen in a hardcore samurai war movie. All Ben could see was red as he hacked away at anything that tried hacking back. His body self-healed with each new wound, his power swirling, racing through his body. The enemy swarmed in and he just hacked away, the ruby life giving liquid spraying and splashing over his form. When no one but him was left alive he dissolved his sword and shut his eyes, arms outstretched. The earth rumbled and trembled and there was the sound of a thousand atomic bombs as Forever Knight fortresses around the world were ripped up by the roots and hurled into the nearest black hole. He then sought every knight that had not been in a castle hurled to the black hole and sucked the manna from them, killing them in such a way foul play would not even be brought up.

He was unfeeling as he went to his truck, turning back to the castle and hurtling it into the black hole with its comrades before getting into the vehicle and driving home.

He walked through the door and to the bathroom ignoring the stares. He knew he looked horrific; blood everywhere, tired, dirty.

He turned on the shower, uncaring that it was blistering hot, before stripping down then destroying his clothes. He stepped into the stall, sliding the door shut, before sliding down the wall into a heap of dejected hero. The water ran scarlet as it rained upon his body, streaming along his form.

The door clicked open and close, the footsteps told him it was Julie. She sat upon the closed toilet, asking gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What is there to say?" he replied in a monotone, "I've just killed hundreds of humans…"

"Kevin found that boy's mother, apparently he was abducted from her two years ago," she told him, "You didn't have to spare him or send him our way."

"No I didn't but he was just so young I couldn't—"

"You did what you had to; nobody thinks any less of you for being able to remove a threat like you did."

"I'm a _**villain**_!"

"You're a _**hero**_! Heroes do what they need to protect the people they love."

He sighed, "Can you get me some clothes?"

"Sure."

The door opened and closed again and he stood up, reaching for the soap bar and shampoo bottle. He scrubbed himself raw but his flesh reformed instantly, unsoiled by the blood of Knights. His fingertips massaged the shampoo into his scalp; he relished the feeling.

The door opened, Julie placed his clothes on the toilet, and the door clicked shut again.

He rinsed off, shook himself dry and stepped out. He slid into the jeans and shirt that had been waiting for him.

He stepped into the living only to be faced with questioning looks, he held up his hands, "The Forever Knights are no more, you may all return to your usual schedules in safety. I apologize for this needed interruption. I am sure Kevin and Grandpa Max will agree to drive you back to wherever you were or to your homes if you wish."

They disbanded, only Julie remained with him, silently as he called Gwen to let her know that she could leave her post.

He hung up and collapsed on the couch; she curled up with him, head on his shoulder. They were silent.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8

She woke up and found a bouquet of roses, reds and whites, dethorned, at the end of her bed. She smiled softly as she reached for and gripped the gift, bringing it under her nose to sniff the flowers delicately.

There was the fluttering of wings and an eagle-like creature was perched on her desk chair. His plumage was a deep reddish-brown, his eyes were still emerald though. His talons were black, the almost scaly skin that covered the feet were golden-yellow; all and all an inconspicuous creature if not for the startlingly bright blue tail plumage and scarlet beak.

"They're beautiful, Ben, thank you." she spoke. The eagle bobbed his head, kreeeing softly. She got up, went to her dresser and got out her clothes for the day; she turned and eyed him expectantly, "Well aren't you leaving?"

He ducked his head beneath his wing, she rolled her eyes. Turning away she slipped from her nightgown, throwing it into her hamper, and into her skirt and blouse in a matter of seconds; she quickly brushed out her hair before turning around to find him with his head still under his wing. "It's okay to look now," she told him and he stretched his wings impressively.

He took off and led her to her kitchen, perching on the counter. Upon the table was a five-star breakfast still hot enough to steam, there was a white lily lying with the food.

"How long have you been here?" she asked; he ducked his head.

----

The high-school was decked out in Valentine's Day décor. Sweethearts and Lovebirds exchanged gifts and other romantic gestures while friends, although this was mainly practiced by the girls of the school, exchanged giggles over secret admirers and not-so-secret ones or platonic gifts of candy or friendship jewelry.

This amicable atmosphere made Ben relax unwillingly as they entered it. She looped her arm through his, saying casually, "Relax Ben, nobody's going to mess with you anymore…"

"You don't know that," he hissed, eyes darting across the crowded halls.

"Yes I do," she whispered back, "after what you did to the Forever Knights, anyone willing to mess with you is either crazy or suicidal…"

"My enemies tend to be those things…"

She laughed happily, pressing closer to his side, as they came to her locker. He stopped her and checked her books as always.

The bell rang.

----

As she headed to lunch she noticed that Ben was nowhere to be seen but she was unworried; if anything big had gone down, someone would have pulled her out or at least informed her as to what was going on. He was probably just running late.

But as she was just about to enter the lunchroom someone gripped her by the elbow; "This way please Ms. Yamamoto," an English accented voice spoke; she spun around to see a matronly looking woman who held her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, yanking herself free and reaching for her alien-repellant-slash-mace which was stashed in her bag.

"Mr. Tennyson informed me that you two have a safety phrase," the woman went on without answering the question, "'Kevin wears pink panties' correct?"

"Yeah," she relaxed.

"Come, come," the woman said, grasping her arm again, "your lunch is waiting!"

"My lunch?" Julie inquired as she jogged to keep up. She was led to a portable she didn't remember seeing that morning. In the portable was a classy lunch for one; there sat a note addressed to her;

"**Hey Julie; sorry I can't join you but some things came up. Enjoy your meal. Ben.**"

-----

"Urgh." He spoke as he landed, morphing into his true form, falling into the rhythm of her step, "_**Boys**_."

She eyed him questioningly, he elaborated, "Maxi has developed a crush upon one of her peers…a third grader by the name of Samuel SeeSaw…"

"Oh," she laughed, "don't get your briefs knotted then! It's just an innocent little crush; they show their affection by hair-pulling and name-calling…they aren't eloping off to Vegas or anything…"

"I know that!" he mumbled before continuing, "It's just she's so young—"

"In human years," Julie interrupted, "who knows, she may've hit that age in Big Chill years.—"

"—I just thought I'd have a few more years…"

"Oh well," she soothed, "all little girls have to grow up sometime…some just do it faster than others."

He grinned wildly, grasping her hand tightly before pulling her into a void, maybe space but she wasn't sure because they were only there for a second or two, before she found herself in the middle of a rainforest. She let go of him, dropping her books as she dropped onto her knees, gasping and fighting the urge to vomit. "God dammit Ben!" she swore, showing just how unsettled she was by the trip for she hardly ever swore, "I've told you to warn me before we do that!"

"Sorry," he apologized, kneeling beside her to rub her spine and help her gather her books, "I honestly forgot about it; I want to show you my gift…There's a giant mushroom behind you, take seat and enjoy the show."

She looked behind her to see a _**GIANT**_ multicolored mushroom, "_**Whoa**_, Toto we're not in Kansas anymore…"

He laughed, helping her up and onto her natural seat, "Julie, we're not on _**Earth**_ anymore. Comfy?"

She nodded, dumbstruck by the natural beauty of her surroundings, before she focused on him as he pulled a collapsible conductor's baton from his jacket, shrugging the jacket off, and unfolded it. He paused and then rummaged in his jean pocket, finding a silver item and he caught it between teeth blowing into it causing a sharp keening sound. The leaves on the giant tree like growths shook before hundreds of bird-like creatures, the likes of which should only have 'existed' in Carroll's_** Alice in Wonderland**_, landed on branches and stones, mushrooms and logs. There were birds without bodies, being just heads on legs; birds with faces where their navels should be and no heads; birds without legs, they sat upon the ground wobbling back and forth but not falling down; birds that walked on wings; birds that had one eye or no eyes; birds that had multiple heads; birds of all colors and patterns, sizes and shapes; all staring at the humans, eerily silent as if waiting for some cue.

Ben cleared his throat announcing, "This's it guys, the big show. Say hi to Julie—"

"Hi Julie," the birds chorused in surprisingly human voices and fluent English.

"—Right. You guys ready? Just how we practiced…One…two…three…"

And much to her amazement they began singing one of her favorite Disney songs, "Lesson Number One" from _**Mulan II**_ perfectly.

A large red bird took the lead lyrics, "Earth, Sky, Day, Night

Sound and silence, Dark and light  
One alone is not enough, You need both together.  
Winter, Summer, Moon and Sun..  
Lesson Number one!"

It showed it's brilliantly rainbowed tail.

All the others gasped "Wow!" before it continued, "Like a rock, huh-huh.  
You must be hard, huh-huh.  
Like an oak, mmmuh.  
You must stand firm, huh-huh.  
Cut quick like my blade.  
Think fast, huh-huh  
Unafraid."

Obediently the others recited the stanza.

A small blue swooped forward., "Okay Kurzon, I'm ready!"

The big red one, Kurzon, kwaked as if chuckling, leaning forward to knock the little one off balance; not hard considering the fact that the blue was one of the wobblers, "Uh-huh. But you're still out of balance.  
You're only halfway there."

The big one leapt into the air, "Like a cloud.  
You are soft.  
Like bamboo.  
You bend in the wind.  
Creeping slow.  
You're at peace because you know.  
It's okay to be afraid."

The others repeated happily before they did the chorus line and Kurzon melted back into the group as a lavender with pink poke-a-dots bird, it was one of the bodiless head on legs ones, and a light blue one, its face at it's navel, came forth to sing "16 going on 17" from the _**Sound of Music**_ after which the choir of birds sang, "These Are A Few of My Favorite Things" from the same film. Then a shocking pink bird, who had no eyes, stepped forward and did a rendition of "Fever".

Ben looked over his shoulder; smiling slightly when he saw her sitting there, eyes closed and foot a-tapping and possibly humming along. He turned back to his work as they moved into "You're the One I Want" from _**Grease**_.

Soon though the birds signed off with "So long, farewell." From the _**Sound of Music**_, calling "Goodbye Julie!" as they left.

Ben stowed his instruments and turned to her with a confident smile, "So what'd'ya think?"

"That was amazing," she breathed, "Where're we? What were they? How are they smart enough to learn those songs? How long did it take?"

He laughed, "We're in Wonderland my dear…"

She made a face of doubt causing him to chortle again, "Really, we are. Mr. Carroll was accidently teleported here and back in his youth; that's why he went mad in the end, he wanted to come back before he died but he never could…as to what were they? They're the residents of this planet, some of them. They're the equals to humans, they aren't normal birds…it only took a couple weeks to teach them. Ready to return to Earth?"

She grimaced but nodded, gathering her books and allowing him to grasp her arm by the elbow. There was a jerking motion and she found them in his home. Maxine was sitting on the bed, looking angry.

Kevin was sitting in the desk chair across from her, arms crossed and glaring.

"What happened?" Ben sighed.

"He scared off my friend!" she accused, pointing to her uncle.

Ben turned to his comrade, mouthing, "Boy?"

The other Plumber nodded, miming back "Holding hands and kisses on the cheeks."

Ben gave Kevin a stealthy thumbs-up before laying into him, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"The little punk was asking for it. Putting the moves on her like that…and I only showed him my Altierian hand cannon."

"And he ran screaming for his life," Maxine shrieked, "You can't go scaring my friends like that! Tim was a perfectly nice boy!"

"Boy being the key word," her father muttered.

"Not you too!" she said horrified before fleeing the room, mumbling about conspiracies in the family.

Kevin followed before turning back and saying, "Oh, when's the wedding? Dignitaries have been contacting me for the date…"

Julie's eyes widened, "_**Dignitaries**_? As in ambassadors from foreign countries?"

Ben chuckled, "No, ambassadors from other _**planes**_,_** planets**_, and_** galaxies**_," while Kevin outright laughed as he left.

She sat down upon the bed, "Dignitaries want invitations to our wedding?"

"More like _**need**_ invitations…" was the reply, "Ambassadors, minstrels who will sing of your beauty, couriers from royal courts bearing gifts, and well-wishes from their lieges; you know, the whole intergalactic hero takes a wife deal." He sat beside her, "We don't need to get married until you want to, how you want to…we can wait until you're ready and if _**they**_ don't like that then _**they**_ can just go shove it."

"I think we should just do it and get it done with," she spoke honestly.

"You sure?" he asked, "we can always wait a couple years…"

"Nah, life's too short to do much waiting."

He smiled and nodded, "You have a date in mind?"

"Let's see, its February now…" she ticked off the months silently, "Is June doable?"

"Anything is feasible given enough elbow grease," he replied.

"Oh no," she shook her head, "I don't want to put anyone out with this."

He laughed, "Trust me, nobody'll mind. You want a June wedding; you'll get a June wedding."

"Just as long as nobody's put out by it…"


	9. Chapter 9

Ch 9

"So Eastern or Western?" Gwen asked as she set a pile of books upon the table.

"A mixture," replied Julie as she flipped through a book of gown designs, "He said whatever I wanted was fine with him and my parents would like to see me honor my heritage a bit so…"

"Right, so kimono or gown?"

"Gown. Most definitely. Ben's wearing the robes."

"Why?"

"He says the last time he was in a tux didn't go so well…"

"When was that?"

"The future he came from, your wedding to Kevin—"

"_**My WHAT to WHO**_?!"

Julie rolled her eyes, saying slowly and loudly, "_**YOUR WEDDING TO KEVIN**_! Anyway, he was Kevin's best man and had to get into a tux but the ceremony was attacked so he had to change and…the tux didn't survive the transformation into the alien and so when he changed back…"

"HE STREAKED AT MY WEDDING?!!"

"Only until he grabbed the hair piece of some aunt!"

"HE COVERED HIMSELF WITH GREAT AUNT ETAIN'S WIG?!"

"In a future that won't happen; trust me when the time comes I'll pack an extra suit just in case."

"Alright…"

"MOMMY!" Maxine came running, "DADDY AND UNCLE KEVIN SCARED OFF ANOTHER FRIEND!"

"BEN!" she called rolling her eyes.

"He was a rogue," he replied, coming into the room and taking a seat on the recliner, "A Kevin-in-the-making without the mutant powers…"

"Oh he couldn't be that bad," Gwen intoned, a small shiver running her form.

"Actually yeah he is…" Kevin came in carrying a laptop, "He's been arrested eleven times and he's only in the fourth grade."

"MOMMY!"

"Sorry Maxi," Julie spoke, "but they were right in doing whatever they did to him. Not every rogue does the one-eighty your uncle did."

"Fine, I'm sorry I got mad. Ooohhh!" she jumped up into an empty seat, "You're planning the wedding!"

Kevin rolled his eyes as Ben also took a seat to help out.

"So you want a kisode, hoari, and hakamas Ben?" Gwen asked, writing on a notepad.

"Yeah, green if it'll work into color scheme of the whole thing…"

"Oh it will," she assured him, "spring, rebirth and growth. Green is perfect…Have you found a spot for the ceremony and reception?"

"Yeah, there's a forest a couple miles away that has pretty decent coverage and Cooper's setting up the security measures and anti-normals procedures…"

"Good, good, Kevin?" she turned to the raven haired youth, "Have you been able to send out the invitations, passports, false identities, and accommodations?"

"Yeah, yeah, all taken care of. Bought a hotel, replaced the human employees with our guys. Everything's set."

"Did you do this legally?"

"Nope. D'ya really think I would?"

"One can always hope…"

"Love ya too." he winked at her, smirking.

She rolled her eyes before getting back to work, "Matron or Maid of Honor?"

"Matron, Grandma Yamamoto." Julie replied, flipping a page, "She's been let in on the secret, hope that's okay…"

"It's fine as long as she can keep it quiet, though I suppose we can always wipe her memory after it…" the redhead mused to herself.

"Alright," the bride-to-be consented to such precautions, "but we'll need to take lots of human photos for an album for her. Just to stop her from questioning the lack of memories."

"Easy to do. How about you Ben? Picked out a best man yet?"

"Kevin still owes me," the young man laughed.

"For what?" his comrade questioned.

"In the future…" Kevin groaned but Ben ignored him and continued, "When you guys got married I helped him pick out a ring, his tux and I kept him from fainting at the altar!"

"That hasn't happened yet!" Kevin blustered while Gwen eyed her cousin, "Were you sober during all this?"

"Nope," Ben lowered his voice, glancing warily at his daughter who was happily flipping through a portfolio of floral arrangements, "I was as high as I could get through the whole process. It was torture even like that…I doubt I could have done it clean…" his eyes darkened as he remembered his life before he came back.

Both of the older girls gave him an understanding smile, Julie reaching out and squeezing his hand.

"So…" Gwen started, thinking wildly for a nicer subject, "Were you a cousin again?"

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes still remaining dark "although I didn't see much of them; you thought I was a bad influence and I had to agree…"

"Them?" echoed the redhead.

"Uh huh, eight year old Evelyn and five year old Devlin…"

"A son?" Kevin perked up, smiling widely.

"A little Momma's Boy," Ben chuckled, "But don't worry Evelyn will be a Daddy's girl through and through."

"But you cancelled that future," Julie said bemusedly.

"Oh no, not completely anyway," he explained, "What I did was more of a surgical strike, Paradox has informed me that anything largely unrelated to your life-i.e. Gwen and Kevin's future- will still go along as I know it, maybe just a little different but that's all."

"So, any chance of Evelyn and Devlin having cousins and Maxine having siblings?"

Ben stilled, fear clearly evident as it flooded his form, "No," he whispered absolutely horrified by the mere thought, "no way in hell."

His chest began heaving as he fought for air as it felt like something was crushing him. His pupils contracting in his terror.

"Oh my god! He's having a panic attack!" Gwen ran about the table coming to be at his side.

"Ben," she spoke slowly and calmly, "calm down, okay? Nothing's going to happen. Julie's perfectly safe…this isn't working…Kevin." She looked to the youth, "I have a sedative in my freezer, get it quickly…he's gonna stroke out soon if we can't calm him down…"

"Right," the rogue flipped over the back of his seat and sped into the kitchen, ignoring Mrs. Tennyson's cry of alarm. He nearly ripped the freezer door from its hinges as he grabbed the syringe before he rushed back out tossing the instrument to the redhead who quickly uncapped it and inserted the needle into one of her cousin's veins.

Immediately he began to calm as the drug worked its' magic, though he was still breathing heavily, blinking rapidly, his pupils returning to normal, as the last beads of sweat ran down his face.

"Ben," Julie asked softly, "what's wrong? Why did you react like that?"

"Sorry guys," he mumbled, leaning forward to put his head in his hands, "I just got so scared…no, no kids…"

"May we ask way?" Gwen queried.

"My kids could kill her…"

"Ben," Julie said gently, "women have been carrying and birthing babies since the cavemen—"

"Not babies fathered by men with zillions of possible genetic combinations," he cut her off, looking up to glare at her, "Any child of mine would be far too dangerous for any mortal woman to carry. What if the fetus developed powers in the womb Julie? What if it kicks you and accidently rips you open? Or what if it has X-ray vision and you get radiation burns internally? Or radiation poisoning and you die months later of cancer? Venom! What if the baby is venomous somehow and accidently infects you?..." he continued to ramble off possible, always deadly, complications. Some were actually quite gruesome and his audience began turning a light green.

"Ew! Daddy stop talking!" Maxi squealed, before clamping her hands over her mouth.

Ben wisely did, "I'm sorry Julie…"

"It's okay," she heaved a sigh, trying to hide her disappointment; she had always wanted kids.

"You're disappointed," he observed, his face falling into a frown.

"No I'm not," she tried to fib.

"Don't try to hide it," he spoke before turning to Maxine, "Maxi can you go watch TV in your Aunt's room?"

"Sure Daddy." She hopped off her seat and sped away.

Ben sighed, 'There may be a way…A way that wouldn't put you, Julie, in that much danger …"

"How?" Gwen asked, interested.

"I would carry the baby to the point where it was viable for life outside the womb…Of course I would need a donor uterus, preferably one imbued with Anodite power…which means Gwen, Cooper would need to harvest a piece of yours to grow a new uterus for my use…" he paused, seeing the incredulous looks, "Hey, it's possible just really weird. Happened all the time in the future. And don't worry Gwen, yours will regenerate the missing piece automatically and the swathe he'll take will re-grow an entire new one. I'd have to use yours because of several reasons; we're blood relatives, we've the same blood type, physically we're the same age, and you have Anodite heritage meaning that yours, and its' clone, should be able to withstand anything the fetus may throw at it. I'll have to have daily hormone injections before implantation can take place and from there on it will be just like regular In Vitro fertilization until the eighth month when we'll have to remove the child for it's own safety as well as mine. The only drawback to this way would be as soon as I have the uterus in me, we'll have to attach it to my larger intestine for the blood supply, I won't be able to transform meaning that Julie might be endangered still. I'll be able to use my powers in my human form yet as the due date draws nearer my agility and mobility will decrease—"

"Cooper, Grandpa Max, Kevin, and I'll help out," Gwen offered, "And I'm sure Verdona will too."

"Right." He turned to Julie, "well what do you say?"

She grinned and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek, saying, "You're the best; but I don't want children for a few years."

He smiled, relieved "Good. Because I don't want this to be a shotgun marriage."

Kevin, who had been trying to contain his mirth at just the image of Ben being truly pregnant (huge belly and hormones and all that jazz), lost the battle and let out a roar of laughter, falling from his seat and rolling on the floor. Every time it seemed he was done he would glance at his comrades and start again.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, a move Julie mirrored, as a tiny bead of sweat dropped from Ben's temple in annoyance. When the laughter continued a vein popped into high relief on his forehead, throbbing a steady beat.

"I'm glad you find the situation amusing!" he spoke loudly.

"Amusing?" Kevin gasped between chortles, "It's hilarious!"


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 10

His brow furrowed as he looked over the blueprints, the architect standing by. He was elfish; standing at 6' 1" he was an inhuman white. Fair hair was to his shoulders, falling messily over pointed ears as sparkling blue jay blue eyes gleamed out from behind bifocals. He was dressed in a Civil War era Union General's Uniform, his own old uniform. The brass buttons, as well as his medals, were polished to perfection and his riding boots gleamed in the artificial lighting.

His fingers were long and narrow.

"I do hope you find everything in order sir," Swift voiced uncertainly. His current client was a legend but so were his newfound tempers. His queen would not want him to invoke the wraith of the wielder of the Omnitrix.

"Almost, and the fortifications are hidden from the normal eye?"

"Yes, unless you are specifically looking for them you will not find them."

"And I can put the entire compound into a lockdown?"

"Yes, the entrances of the main and guest house will lock themselves and will not open without the master codes. The driveways will gate themselves, the hangars and garages will bolt themselves, laser deterrents will go up around the perimeter and will only allow vehicles which have been given an opener…"

"Good, good…are the passages included in your designs?"

"Yes underground routes from every building on the grounds into the main panic room under the main house."

"Well then what about underground attacks?"

"The walls, passages and foundations will be reinforced by Versitium."

"Aerial attacks?"

"An invisible energy barrier will cover the entire complex."

"And the amenities Ms. Yamamoto wants?

"All thoroughly protected and monitorable via security cameras."

"The greenhouses?"

"The glass walls will turn to Versitium in the case of a lockdown or an attack; an artificial atmosphere and weather system will take over if that occurs, and a passage to the main house's panic room will open."

"Good, good. You do realize that once construction is complete I will have to wipe yours and your employees' memories right?"

"Of course, shall I inform my workers to start work?" Swift inquired as he rolled up the plans.

"Yes."

"Thank you sir." Swift exited the room in a quick stride, grabbing his coat from the peg as he did so.

Ben stood up and clapped his hands, the study melting from view to be replaced by his normal bedroom furniture.

A scroll appeared and he sighed, snapping his fingers and sitting down at the desk that reappeared. A fire cackled happily at his back as he unfurled the scroll and read it wearily before tossing it to the fire and dragging a quill, inkwell and some parchment towards himself and beginning to draft a letter to the Unitopian monarchy. The scroll had been a request for Maxine's hand in marriage, a marriage to the Unitopian heir Prince Cadwell. The prince was the only, legitimate, heir to the Unitopian throne and was only eight in human years. From what Ben knew he was a sickly boy and was a weak link in the government of his planet.

In flowing calligraphy he politely declined the proposal; his excuse was that Maxine was too young, in his mind, to be betrothed to anyone.

He signed it and rolled it up, incasing it in a bubble of energy. The sphere and scroll within began spinning at an infinite speed, fading from view and beginning its' journey to the Andromeda galaxy five hundred twenty three light-years away. It would get there by the month's end.

----

The robes hung on his frame, as green as his normal jacket. On a stool beside him stood Kevin, sulking silently as the deep blue robes were fitted to him. The young man had tried to wriggle his way out of the Heian period style robes and into a modern tuxedo, Ben however wasn't having it.

A light green kisode peeked out from the cuffs and collar line of the emerald hoari the groom wore, while the best man wore a sky blue kisode under his navy blue hoari. They were both wearing, when everything was said and done, a style of male robes from the Heian era called Noshỉ.

"I don't get many of you white folks in here," the old fitter wheezed, "no respect for the gods or their traditions… all about what's most convenient or fastest these days… In fact, why _**are**_ you two in here?"

"It's a compromise between the bride's parents and mine," Ben spoke in the old man's native tongue, shocking the seamer so badly that he stuck a pin into…a _**very painful**_ spot on Kevin's body.

"My parents wanted a western wedding, hers a traditional Shinto ceremony," he continued, "So the conciliation? I, and my best man here, dress Shinto and she, and her Matron of honor, western."

"I see…"

"Do you know where I can find the proper herbs needed for the proper incense for the proper supplication of the gods? I don't wish to offend anyone _**up there**_."

The old man smiled warmly, "Yes I do, and there's a lovely shrine just around with priests who would be willing to help you with your first prayers. I'll write down the addresses as soon as I'm done with your friend here."

"Thank you sir, thank you very much."

"Suck up," Kevin coughed, earning another pin in his very personal, sensitive area, "YWOUCH!"

The old man smirked, "You should take lessons on '_sucking up'_ from your very respectful friend here."

"Nah; he's just sulking over there, he can be charming when he wants to be."

"Keh."

The fitter chuckled, coughing, Ben frowned, "Are you ill sir?"

"No, my young friend, I'm paying the price of wisdom and experience. It is the mortal's lot to leave temporary footprints in the sands of time. We are born, we learn, we die."

"Give me your hands," the young man spoke, carefully stepping from his spot and grabbing the old man's hands in his own.

As soon as youth touched age warmth flowed through the old man, easing his aches and healing his lungs. Bones snapped, crackled, and popped as they realigned and reformed a bit, arthritis being banished from re-cartilaged joints. The heart became stronger, nearly blocked arteries cleared. Liver spots faded slightly as stress lines faded completely.

"What are you?" the man whispered roughly. Ben smiled, replying, "A person who loves to see good people rewarded. You've unintentionally given me glimpses of your life as you've worked, I wish to help you enjoy the best years of your life."

The warmth receded slowly, leaving the old man feeling as spry as a 40 year old.

"You're a god!" the old man spoke shakily, falling to his knees in prayer.

"No, no!" he was pulled back to his feet, "If anything I'm merely a vehicle for their good works."

The old man nodded, trembling, before returning to his work.

When it came time to be paid for his services he waved away the money, "You do not take from the messengers of the Gods; you, Mr. Tennyson, are welcome back here any time, day or night, you wish."

"I insist sir!" Ben protested, trying to foist the money onto the old man.

"Save it, for I shall only burn it at the shrine in thanks."

And so it continued on for a half an hour until Kevin forcibly dragged his comrade, still arguing his point, out of the shop and into the car.

"Ben," he warned as his friend made to reenter the shop, "if you go back in there I will injure you in ways that will make your wedding night impossible to enjoy."

"But the old man!" Ben protested, "Our payment—!"

"No worries," the raven haired youth smirked, throwing him the keys, "slipped it into the register."

"Bad bad man you," Ben chuckled, good naturedly wagging his finger at the rogue, "what would Gwendolyn say?"

"You aren't going to tell her, I've already gone soft enough for her as it is."

Before the brunette could comment his speakerphone came on-line, "Good afternoon Ben Tennyson speaking…"

"Daddy!" Maxine screeched, "We've an emergency!"


	11. Chapter 11

Ch 11

Ben's heart sputtered and stopped, breath disappearing.

"Daddy? You there?" Maxine screeched again, "Daddy! Mommy's alright!"

His heart started again and he gulped air, "What's going on?"

"We found an alien!" Maxine spoke excitedly, "we found her at the park, hiding from the normals. She's pretty beat up; Mommy's patched her up as much as she'd allow, she's really skittish—"

"What park are you guys at?" Ben demanded.

"Bellwood Memorial Park."

"I'm on my way."

Maxine hung up and Ben turned to Kevin, "I need to teleport you to the clearing where Gwen and Cooper are overseeing things."

"Fine."

The brunette waved his hand and his comrade faded out. The black SUV sped up, roaring around the corners and sliding into a curbside parking spot outside the gate of the park.

He flashed into the hidden patch where he sensed his family to be, coming to a stop in front of Julie.

He saw over her shoulder a small girl; she was pale, other than the rainbow of bruises that marred her otherwise flawless skin. There was a layer of peach fuzz upon her, obviously shaven, head that was bright crimson. Her eyes were violet, though the left one was swollen shut; freckles dotted the high, bony cheeks beneath them. Her lower lip was swollen on the right side, forcing her mouth open and showing that she was nearly toothless. Her face, under the contusions, was rather angular. The dress she wore seemed to be made of a large burlap sack with the appropriate holes cut to make a dress, she was barefoot. Under the 'dress' she seemed to be skin and bones.

Her right arm had clearly been broken, and had remained untreated, at a younger age as she held it at an unnatural angle, her knee and ankle of the same side were bulgy, her toes of that foot curled.

All in all she looked like a, much abused, human child of six years…except for the thin, flimsy wings that were torn to ribbons. They looked as if they had been overlarge butterfly wings; shimmery, they were various shades of pinks and reds, sprouting from her shoulder blades. She was perched on a huge root, in a half crouching half standing posture, eyes staring at him fearfully.

Julie motioned to the girl helplessly, whispering, "She says her name is Rose, and that she ran away from an orphanage that kept her locked in the basement and beat her because of her alien parentage. She said she's half Bellea—"

He nodded, "Humans usually call her people faeries…"

"What are we going to do with her?"

He shrugged, sighing, "We're gonna take her in, what else can we do? Let me guess, her parents are dead."

"Bingo. She's twelve. Mom was in exile, Dad was a normal cop. Dad died in line of duty, when she was four, Mom died not long afterwards of an unknown cause—"

"Broken heart probably, Belleans survive through their emotions…" he took a deep breath, "Cover me, I'm going in."

He approached with slow, measured steps; "Hello Rose, I'm Ben. I mean you no harm okay? I just want to help you—"

"Are you from the orphanage?" the girl demanded, "A hunter? How much did that old crow pay you? I'm not going back, you'll have to kill me!"

His jaw dropped, "No, no. I'm a Plumber—"

"Show me your badge then!"

He showed her the watch and she was mollified.

"I want to take you back home with me and my family," he continued, "you'll be happy and safe there. We'll have to document your injuries and then I'll be able to heal them."

"My wings too?" she asked, "They were always so pretty, they made my mom so proud."

"I'll try, I can't make any promises…I'm only used to healing humans." He held out his hand to her, "Trust me."

-------

She sat curled up on the couch, staring at the odd beings that bustled about her. They seemed to accept her without any reservations which unnerved her to no end. Suddenly a stuffed animal was put into her lap, her head snapped to the side and she saw Maxine, the other girl had placed the stuffed puppy. It was bedraggled, from years of being well loved, and missing a button eye. It's back had a large purple stain, probably grape juice or some other such liquid, faded by age.

"He was my Daddy's," Maxine explained, "he gave him to me but it looks like you need him more. He's named Mr. Snuffles but you can rename him if you want…"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Rose asked, "I mean your family is connected to the Plumbers and everything but you guys look so _**human**_, so _**normal**_."

Maxine grinned, her green eyes alight with mischief, "Nobody but my Mommy is normal in this family…"

"Why do you call those two teenagers your parents? You're way too old to be their biological daughter, did they adopt you?"

"Nope…well Mommy did sort of…Daddy laid me…" she laughed as she shifted into her natural form, "Maybe you've heard of my Daddy, he's known as Ben 10—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Your dad is _**who**_?!"

"Ben 10," Maxi repeated before launching into an explanation, "one night a year and a half ago one of the aliens he can turn into laid eggs. Me and my brothers hatched—"

"There are more of you guys? Of Ben 10's kids?"

"—About twenty, but I'm the only girl, my brothers are in space. I'm supposed to be out there too but I have some human in me and I got really sick so a few months ago two of my brothers brought me home and I've been living on earth ever since. Now when Daddy laid the eggs he and Julie, my Mommy, were dating, they're now engaged and the wedding's in a few months, so me and my brothers consider her our mommy and she allows me to treat her and call her such. I'm in a private school. But even without the watch Daddy would still have alien blood in him because my great grandma, on his side, Verdona is an Anodite—"

"A what?"

"Massively super-powerful cosmic energy being that can control manna—"

"What?"

"Life energy, everyone and everything alive has manna. Anyway there's a whole planetful of these beings. My human Great Grandpa Max was a Plumber; they met, fell in love and had two kids, both boys, my Grandpa Carl, Daddy's dad and my great uncle Frank, my aunt—whose really mine and Daddy's cousin but I call her Aunt because she's so much older than me—Gwen's father. Now see Anodite powers go mostly down the female line so my Daddy, my Grandpa and my uncle were all perfectly human looking and acting, Grandpa and Uncle Frank still are, but Daddy found the watch and soon became a hero and unlocked all these powers including his dormant Anodite powers. But Uncle Frank had a _**daughter**_ who developed these powers, which she and my Daddy thought came from magic but turns out they're from their alien grandma, when she was ten and on vacation during the summer that Daddy found the watch and then I was born and came back and got really mad one day and found out that I have them too!"

"What about him?" Rose pointed to Kevin, "He looks dangerous!"

"Oh he is," Maxine said wisely, "He used to be a really bad guy, Kevin Eleven—" Rose sucked in breath, eyes going wide in shock, "He's one year older than Daddy, Mommy, and Aunt Gwen. He has the power to absorb things; when he was younger he used to absorb energy but then one day he absorbed the watch's, when he met Daddy he tried to steal the watch, energy and got turned into a monster mutant mixture of Daddy's aliens. He tried to kill Daddy, Aunt Gwen, and Great Grandpa Max but they trapped him in the Null Void—"

"Where?"

"An interdimensional prison, a literal hell, only the worst of the worst of the _**worst**_ of alien criminals get sent there. Fast forward five years into the future, Great Grandpa Max's just gone missing, Daddy's just put the watch back on—"

"Back on?"

"Yeah, they had been able to get it off at the end of that first summer, he lived a normal life until Great Grandpa Max went missing; so anyway, he and Aunt Gwen had just become unofficial Plumbers and they and an official Plumber, Max's junior partner, go to bust up an illegal tech deal and find that Kevin Eleven, older wiser and human again, is brokering it. They break it up, the buyers and sellers scram but they caught Kevin. Nobody but Aunt Gwen was able to convince to help. They found the sellers, the Forever Knights which was an organization that was based upon the desire to destroy a dragon that was actually an alien; last month they threatened the family so Daddy killed them all, Daddy's really overprotective, especially of Mommy because she's been a normal human all her life and is the newest person to join our world; but anyway the official Plumber died but Kevin owed him because he died to save Kevin's life so Kevin became an unofficial Plumber, his dad was an official Plumber but he died when Kevin was really little and his new stepfather kicked him to the streets because of his power, he said he just wanted to get revenge for that Plumber and for not getting paid for that deal he brokered, but really he fell for Aunt Gwen, hard, and she fell for him just as hard, they've been dating for a year now and he allows me to call him my Uncle because of that. He's a really good guy now, sure he has his moments but he had a rough childhood and he was in the Void for five years or so, so we forgive him and Aunt Gwen's helping him with his issues…besides he only absorbs matter now. He's a big teddy bear underneath that tough charade."

Suddenly Julie appeared, "Are you hungry Rose?" she asked softly.

The girl was about to reply "No" when her stomach growled, making her flush, "A little bit…"

"What did they give you to eat at the orphanage?" the older girl asked gently.

Rose frowned, "Gruel and water, not enough for me to live on so I caught rats and bugs, collected rainwater in an old jam jar I found, I had to use own wings for filters…Sorry I'm pattering on…"

"No, it's alright," Julie assured, "how about a couple pieces of toast then? So your stomach won't react too badly…Hmmm…" she looked the girl up and down, "you seemed to be about the same size as Maxi…Maxi can she borrow some clothes?"

The little moth-girl nodded, her wings folding back from her head; "C'mon Rose, I know a perfect dress for you."

Rose folded her newly healed wings about her body like a robe and followed slowly. Julie sighed before arms wrapped about her waist; she reclined her head onto his shoulder and found him smiling slightly, "She's ours. Cooper finally finished the paperwork. You and I are now the proud guardians of Rosalyn Saran-Tennyson…"

"Good, so what's the story?" she closed her eyes; being lulled by his pulse, coming from his throat.

"Well my mother had a twin sister that was put up for adoption at birth," he launched into the fabricated history, "This sister, named Wanda—"

"Wanda?!" she snorted.

"Hey! I'm telling you the story," he pretended to be affronted, "we'll work out the details later—Anyway, Wanda grew up, had Rosalyn, died of cancer when she was four. Rosalyn was found wandering the streets six years later and they ran her DNA for an ID because she wouldn't cooperate, they came across my Mom's DNA on the national donor registry and contacted her. We've agreed to adopt her…you feeling okay Julie?" he asked concernedly as he had just noticed she was paler than usual.

"Hmmmuh," she said sleepily, "just with everything going on I haven't been sleeping that much ya know?"

"Huh." was his reply before he picked her up into his arms and carried her to their room. He settled her into the bed and blankets before making a pod sprout from his palm.

"What's that?" she blinked wearily as he plucked it and cracked it open to reveal brownish powder. He dumped the powder into one half of the shell, discarding the other.

"One of the aliens I have produces a powder that induces a dreamless sleep in most mammalian life-forms. When I sprinkle it onto you I need you to shut your eyes and take the deepest breath you can manage."

"Kay."

"Ready?" he asked as he took a pinch of the substance and held it above her face.

"Yeah…" she shut her eyes and as soon as she felt the grains of powder hit her face she inhaled and they entered her lungs and her bloodstream. She felt her muscles relaxing, going slightly numb. Her eyelids drooped heavier than before and soon dropped shut.

"Goodnight Julie." was the last thing she heard before she dropped off to slumber.

"Ni En," was her garbled reply, "Ov ooh."

She was asleep before she could hear his chuckled, "Love you too Jules."

He shook his head amusedly before bending down to plant a soft, quick kiss upon her lips. Straightening back up he set the unused powder, in its' shell, on the bedside table and took his leave. He paused as he stepped outside the threshold of the room and snapped his fingers. The window dropped silently, locked itself, and became indestructible. The doorway sparkled as a manna wall went up, visible for a mere second before fading from view. The door silently shut itself as well, its' hinges bracing and reinforcing themselves as the lock clicked into place, the wood being strengthened and reinforced.

He then went off to make Rose her toast, having been eavesdropping on the conversation. Plate of toast in hand he made his way to Maxine's room.

He found the girls, really just Maxine while Rose sat on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest, rummaging through Maxine's extensive closet. Being Ben 10's daughter did have some benefits, she had been given clothes (robes, dresses, gowns, armors) by intergalactic governments seeking favor with her and, through her, her father. That didn't mean that Ben hadn't bought a fair portion of her clothes himself…okay, that's a lie. He had given Julie and Gwen a five thousand dollar limit on a credit card with the instructions to get Maxine a decent earthly wardrobe.

"Ah ha!" the moth-girl exclaimed, pulling a robe from a trunk. The robe was a dark maroon color with cuffs that flared from the wrists widely and it covered the legs to where the hem brushed the floor. "I found it!"

"Maxi," he interrupted, "you know that's only for special events. Here you go Rose; I've got it about as soft as possible. I've gotten a friend working on some false teeth for you."

"Thank you," she whispered quietly as she took the plate, "for everything."

"No problem," he saw something from the corner of eye, "_**Maxine**_, a shirt and PJ pants will do her just fine."

Maxine pouted and pulled from her closet a lilac blouse and pajamas with cute puppies frolicking across them after various things.

He was about to approve the choice when a low alarm began going off.

"Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Intruder alert.—"

The morph was instantaneous; gold replaced green, coarse yet silky white fur replaced plain Caucasian skin and dyed cloth. The white muzzle over took the human face as the morphing continued. His ears changed and migrated to the top of the head as he fell forward onto paws sheathing deadly claws.

The whole transformation took only seconds to complete from start to finish, his upper lip curled back in a vicious snarl as his eyes glinted.

"Maxine," he barked, his frame beginning to vibrate from his growls, "get yourself and Rose into the Room."

"Right!" she raced to her bed and yanked up the skirt before grabbing Rose and yanking her beneath the bed to the entrance of the panic room.

He fazed through the walls in a bounding gait, racing to get to their room. He found her form, still inert with sleep, being aimed at by a poison tipped dagger which was held by a reptilian humanoid assassin. It was aimed at her heart. He leapt, his mass hitting the attacker's, and knocked his foe backwards.

Quickly, efficiently, his jaws clasped about the being's throat before he ripped it out. Moving downward he plunged his snout deep into his enemy's chest, tearing out the still beating heart. Tossing back his head, he threw it into the air and gulped it down in mid-fall with a snap of his jaws. The door banged opened and he flipped about growling and snarling at the enterers. Bluish-green blood smeared the white muzzle and he was too far gone in his animal instincts, to protect his chosen mate, to realize these beings were not a threat to her safety.

He positioned himself between the humans and his mate.

Kevin and Gwen stood just on the threshold stunned; their eyes flitted from the bloody corpse, to the transformed, bloody, wild Ben and to the unconscious yet still breathing Julie.

The redheaded young woman made to step inside the room but the raven haired youth pulled her back, "He won't hurt her, he sees us as the threat."

"But he knows us!"

Kevin shook his head, "Right now he doesn't, he's going on instinct right now. We are the threat in his mind."

He quietly shut the door, saying, "C'mon Maxi and Rose are probably in the panic room…"

Wolf-Ben sniffed around the door frame and then trotted back to the bed. As he was going by instinct he really didn't remember putting her to sleep and he instinctually knew this wasn't a natural slumber yet she wasn't dead either. His chest reached the edge of the bed in height and length he was as long as the bed. He nudged her arm with his nose, whining softly; she didn't stir. Standing on his hind legs he laid his front onto the bed as his long reddish tongue reached out and licked her cheek. Nothing.

He whined before falling to the ground; he laid down against the bed, head upon his forelegs. His ears were pointed back towards her, his nose and eyes scanning the room for threats.

He stayed in that position for several hours, only moving when she roused. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Even in the dim light she saw the corpse of her would be assassin.

"Ben?" she called and he barked, drawing her attention to him. She noticed that, although he responded to his name, there was no sign of his humanity in his eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked.

"Mate." he replied.

"My name?"

"JJJJJJulie," it came out a growl, the J sound being hard for the alien mind to get the mouth to make.

"Was I attacked as I slept?"

"Mate was attacked, I kill threat."

"Thank you, but I'm perfectly safe now so you can turn back now."

He whined before humanity came to his eyes and he turned back. He stood up and immediately she flushed and averted her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Your clothes, they're gone."

"Oh. Sorry." he immediately covered himself and hurried to his closet to get dressed.


	12. Chapter 12

Ch 12

She stretched; today was the last day of school for the year, today was also the day of the Official Unofficial Tennis Match between Bellwood High and The All Girl Preparatory High School of Bellwood (i.e. Gwen's school). The best player from each school had been chosen, she being Bellwood High's. The OUTM had a long, esteemed, history that all tennis players from both institutions were taught to the point that they had dreams of it and could repeat it all at the drop of a hat.

Both schools were founded at about the same time and had, at one time, always been in the regional championship against each other. Because of this the first principals, or, in the case of the AGPHSB, deans, made an agreement that honor was not to be lost by losing the championship game but by losing the OUTM. The rivalry ran deep, being passed in the oldest of Bellwood families from generation to generation. Various pre-game traditions included the abduction, vandalism, humiliation, and/or insultation of the previous year's winning school mascot by the previous year's losing school. This mission was carried out by the losing school's soccer team. AGPHSB won last year so the BHS soccer team was to do the honors. And of course, being both captain and goalie, Ben had to be involved. Apparently an alien of his produced a very volatile powder that caused painful, but not dangerous, pustules on its' victim's skin. The pustules, in a matter of mere hours, would as follow:

Erupt on every inch of outer skin on the victim, barring the face and all included there.

Grow to an uncomfortable size [over two inches tall and wide]

Fill with a vile smelling pus-like liquid, turning the boils a deep blue color.

Pop, spewing the pus-like liquid onto everything in a 3 foot radius.

Scab over

Heal without leaving any trace of ever being there.

So Ben, feeling quite impish (and no doubt being egged on by Kevin behind the scenes), pumped out enough of this powder to fill a small Dirt Devil and then, switching the vacuum into reverse mode, dusted the rivals' mascot costume with the stuff on the inside and outside before replacing it back where the costume belonged.

A smile came to her lips, as she continued to warm-up, as she remembered threatening the male Tennyson. She had cornered him that morning and explained in no uncertain terms, "You will stay off the court; if I take a dive and get banged up you will wait until after the game is over to overreact and heal me. In fact, unless a Highbreed Warship is heading straight toward the court with guns a-blazing, your butt is not to leave your bleacher seat for any reason at all."

She popped her neck, grabbed her racket, and headed out of the locker room.

----

He was sitting on the BHS side bleachers, with Maxine and a disguised Rose beside him.

"Boooo!" echoed around him and he looked up to see Gwen, followed by Kevin, climbing up to join them. She just rolled her eyes at the jeering as she sat down.

"Julie's gonna win hands down," she informed him.

"Your girl that bad huh?"

"No, I've seen her practice and play. Maria's the best in my school but she's nowhere near Julie's skill level."

"Good to know; this'll be quick then…"

"She's perfectly safe Ben."

"The rational, normal part of me knows and understands that. The irrational, abnormal part only sees the whizzing ball, the dangerous rackets and the dirt that will infect a cut faster than you can say MERSA…"

"Hence the worry?"

"Hence the worry. I'm trying to stomp that side of me down but so far…Sometimes I just want to put her inside a plastic bubble, a plastic bubble with filtered air."

He watched as the AGPHSB mascot began her routine, slightly amused as the first signs of the powder's work appeared. The BHS mascot, a little green man, came out and began doing his routine.

"They think _**that's**_ an alien?!" Maxine and Rose giggled together.

"Hush," they were silenced, "they're normals, they don't know any better."

"But it's insulting!" Rose sputtered quietly.

"We know." the three plumbers acknowledged.

The players entered the court. AGPHSB booed and jeered Julie, throwing crumpled balls of paper, banana peels and dead flowers (those were courtesy of the drama students no doubt). Ben kept careful track of who threw what; they'd all be getting a visitor that night. She smiled through it all before catching his eye and winking to him with a small thumbs-up. He grinned back and nodded, cocking his head slightly to the right and winking his left eye. She nodded and blew him a kiss before taking her place.

"Did you tell her good luck for us Daddy?" Maxine asked, having seen the little exchange and knowing that her parents had a language all their own.

"Uh huh."

The BHS side was far more civil to the rival player, Maria Sanchez. They calmly waited as she took her place, giving her the evil eye but nothing more or less. Soon the match started and it was clear who had the upper-hand in it.

Then there was a _**crack**_ sound, and one of Julie's arms went limp. She motioned for a time out and it was granted. She motioned for Ben and he went over to where she sat.

"What happened?!" he demanded.

"I don't know Ben," she ground out irately, "my shoulder dislocated itself."

"I'm taking you home."

"I'm finishing the match."

"Well I can't heal you here, exposure risk and all."

"Can you numb the pain?"

"Maybe, might have to sever the nerves though."

"Would you be able to repair them?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

He gently took her arm and CT scanned it with his eyes, finding the main nerves.

"Brace yourself."

Carefully he burnt away the nerves before binding her arm to her chest in a sling.

"Good to go…for awhile." he sighed, "I really don't feel comfortable letting you do this."

"I'm sorry, but I am going to win this match. I can do it with one arm tied behind my back…or to my front as it is." She stood up and gave him a peck on the cheek, "I'll make this quick, I promise."

"Quicker than you have already?" he asked surprised. She grinned, "I've been playing with her, letting her think she had a chance. Beating aliens to a pulp is your thing; tennis is _**mine**_."

And indeed within five, brutal, minutes it was all over except the crying. But Julie didn't get to see her opponent blubber for as soon as the match was called in her favor Ben had scooped her up and spirited her away, the girls, Gwen and Kevin towing along behind him.

----

"Okay!" he clapped his hands together, with forced cheerfulness "we have to do this the human way."

Julie sat on the couch, her arm still slinged. She glanced at him, sighing, "Thought so. So how'd'ya want to do this? Want me to lay on my stomach?"

"Well we can do this three ways; the traditional way is one. The other two are A) I hold you on my lap as Kevin pops it back into place or B) Kevin holds you on his lap as I pop it back into place. Your choice."

"Wait, why do I need to be held?"

"To act as resistance, plus it's going to hurt quite a lot for a second or two so I'd thought you'd want some comfort."

"Option A please, no offense Kev."

The ex-conman, who had been hanging back behind Ben, smiled and said, "None taken."

Ben sat down and pulled her to his lap, unwrapping her arm from its sling, locking his arms about her waist with inhuman strength.

With a quick tug and push, a slight popping noise, and some mild discomfort, her arm was back in place.

"Thanks Kev." she spoke as she messaged the muscle and rotated her arm back and forth.

Before anything else could be done or said Ben had set her onto the couch and sprinted off to the bathroom. It was from there they could hear him panting, groaning and generally straining and suffering.

The raven haired young man quickly took his leave, promising to have the girls back by eight; Gwen had taken her nieces to a movie, so they wouldn't see Julie being fixed up. So Julie, having found herself suddenly free for awhile, grabbed the remote and flipped it onto MythBusters.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the scream sounded, startling her to her feet and to the restroom door.

She could now hear him swearing. She knocked on the door timidly, calling, "Ben? Are you alright in there?"

"C'mere." he replied and she opened the door to find him with his pants down, but his boxers up, and holding an egg about the size of a regulation soccer ball.

"You laid that?" she asked quietly, shutting the door behind her.

He nodded, wincing slightly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his head hanging in shame.

"For what? I'm not upset with you."

"This isn't normal…"

"It's fine Ben…it's alright…" she sighed, "Is it fertilized?"

"I…don't know. Can you bring me a flashlight?"

She nodded and retrieved what he requested. He flipped it on and pressed it to the bottom; his breath caught. There, in the eerie glow of the light, floated a small silhouette.

"Oh wow."

The little form stretched out before curling back into its original position.

"I'll grab the car."

"Thanks."

----

The egg sat on a folded cotton towel, which was heated by a high tech hot water bottle, on an examination table, There were lines and electrodes attached to the shell, trailing to a computer which was running numerous scans at once. Cooper was reading the printouts as his new robotic assistant mended Ben's feces shoot; which had been torn while egg-laying. Ben was laying on the second examination table, pants and boxers down, his lower body completely numb from the localized anesthesia. Julie sat between the two tables on a mobile stool.

"This's embarrassing," he muttered, she patted his hand and stifled a chuckle.

"Got it!" Cooper exclaimed, having been going through an electronic catalog of alien species.

He had pulled up the profile of an alien species that looked like a European dragon.

"It's an Avalonius egg."

Ben groaned, "Dragon, I just had to lay a dragon egg…"

"Dragon/Human hybrid actually." Cooper spoke, turning to face them, "Have you two been intimate?"

"No." they both flushed.

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm what?"

"Somehow the chick shares DNA with you Julie. Usually intimate contact is necessary…unless…"

He spun back around to his computer and began typing quickly, "Unless another species facilitated the DNA swap through another means. Ah ha!"

He spun back to face them, "Skin to skin contact; have you two had skin to skin contact in the past week?"

"Yes."

"Of course! That's it! Ben's cells absorbed some of your DNA and transferred it to the undeveloped chick before the shell formed!"

"Okay…how do we care for it?" Julie asked, "What temperature do we need to keep the egg at? When will it hatch? Will it be humanoid or bestial? What will it eat?..."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there!" the blonde exclaimed in surprise, "One at a time…okay in order; It needs to be kept at a minimum of 350oF if you want it to be a girl, if you want a boy 250oF is the minimum but no more than 349oF and you can't go above 500oF either way or else you'll a boiled egg. You could probably just keep it in a fireplace and monitor the temperature using a cooking thermometer. Now I'm just guessing but it should hatch in about two weeks or so and it should be humanoid with some Avalonius features. Young Avalonions eat regurgitated meat but you should offer it formula first, otherwise you can just use a blender. If it seems to like the formula but not like it try adding blended meat."

------

He sighed, checking the temperature of the fiery nest of his egg.

270**o**F

He used the charcoal tongs to pick up and turn over the oval object. It had to be checked and turned every six hours; he and Julie took turns, alarms set for their shifts.

Maxine and Rose came in, "Has he hatched yet?"

"No, he won't hatch for a few more days."

They knelt before the newly installed fireplace, watching their younger sibling gestate.

"Is it normal for boys to lay eggs?" Maxine asked, "'Cause you seem to do so an awful lot Dad."

"Not fully human boys," Rose said wisely, "humans, boys or girls, don't lay eggs at all."

"Oh. That explains a lot."

"Uh huh, girls," started Ben, "you do know that your mother and I will always love you right?"

"Dad, no worries," replied Rose, "we both know and understand that when the new baby hatches that you and Mom will be busier than usual with him and might not have time or energy to give us all the attention we want. We understand that the baby will require a bunch of care and time, if any thing we'll help."

"Thanks."

Suddenly the egg began to move, little cracks appearing at the top.

"Rose, get your mother; tell her it's time."

"Right." she sprinted out as he pulled the egg from its nest of flames.

It shook and trembled; Julie and Rose came into the room, piles towels and a suction thingamajig in their hands. They also brought three bottles; one of formula, one of a formula and pureed raw meat mixture and one of just pureed raw meat. They knelt before the hatching egg.

The top cracked open, a little crown of black head emerging from it. There were little horn bumps on it but it otherwise looked like the top of a human head.

"Oh look! He has Mommy's hair color!" Maxine squealed, but she was hushed when the movement of the hatching chick stilled.

"I think you scared him," Rose whispered, "in the animal kingdom some hatching chicks will wait until a perceived danger has passed."

Ben began chirping and roaring softly and movement began again. The little one began chirping back, becoming silent every few seconds to get replies. His father kept a running conversation with the chick.

The shell fell apart, leaving the wet little form of a baby boy shivering in its place. Black and silver reptilian wings, which seemed far too large for the tiny body, sprouted from his shoulder blades though they were weighed down by amniotic goop. His tiny fingers and toes were tipped in soft claws which would harden in the next hour or so. Over all his body was very human, his skin the same shade as his father's but his eyes were hazel instead of emerald or brown. His facial structure was that of his mother's though, but there was an egg-tooth on the tip of his nose. It would soon fall off, having served its purpose.

Automatically Julie reached forward, with a towel of course, and gathered him up and bundled him up, mindful of his fragile wings. He looked up at her, reaching out with a tiny hand to grip a nearby finger with inhuman strength. Julie melted; automatically she melted. She never wanted to let him go.

"Wow," Maxine whispered as she looked at her little brother, "he's so _**tiny**_!"

"What's his name?" Rose asked, turning to Ben.

Ben and Julie looked to each other, they had not really decided on any name in particular just yet.

"May Maxine and I suggest something?" Rose inserted, "we've been listening to you two talk about it and we both really like the name Kenneth—"

"With the middle name of Donny, for G-G Verdona—" Maxine broke in

"Last name hyphenated Yamamoto-Tennyson—" took up Rose again

"Because us two have both taken Daddy's name and we really want to see Gramps and Grams be able to claim at least one of us kids as their grandkid by name and he does have Yamamoto DNA in him, whereabouts we don't." Maxine finished.

Ben looked to Julie once more, "I'm okay with it, you?"

"I see no issue with that," she looked to the babe she held, "Kenneth Donny Yamamoto-Tennyson, yeash that's a mouthful."

"May I hold him?" Ben asked softly and she looked up abashedly, nodding as she handed over Kenneth.

"You know we can just call him Ken for short," he mused as he held his son. He cooed at his little one in the Avalonian tongue.

"What are you telling him?" Rose asked quietly.

"Oh the usual," was the reply, "that he is loved and wanted and all that good stuff."

The door slammed open, causing Ken to give a squawk of fright; instantly he was transferred back to Julie's arms as she jumped to her feet. Ben had done the same, though he was in front of her, twin manna swords having formed in his fisted hands. Maxine was on her left flank, a manna staff in her hands. Rose was to her mother's right, metal Sais in her hands.

Gwen and Kevin entered, the Tennysons blinked before slowly relaxing.

"What's going on?" the redhead asked, eyeing the weapons as they melted from existence and sight.

"Uh, nothing," her cousin replied, "we're just a little edgy today."

"Why?" she then spied the newborn chick, "Oh! He hatched!"

Julie smiled widely, turning Ken to where he could be easily viewed, "Meet Kenneth Donny Yamamoto-Tennyson."

"He's so cute!"

She approached quickly, too quickly apparently for a nasty warning growl ripped from Ben.

Julie shot him a look and he settled down, watching them silently but closely.

"Can I?" Gwen asked and Julie nodded, handing her the bundled chick.

"How cute," she squealed softly, "but that's funny, he looks a lot like you, Julie."

Her friend grinned happily, "That's because I'm his biological mother of sorts; Ben's alien biology sampled some of my DNA while Ken was being made."

"Congratulations."

-----

She froze, the crib was empty. Forcing herself to remain calm she went to the doorway, calling,

"Does anyone have Ken!?"

"No."

"Nope."

"I think he's napping."

Ben came running; he spied the empty crib over her shoulder. He took a deep breath, "Okay, let's remain calm, he may've just escape—"

"Ben! That crib is escape proof!" she nearly screamed, panic clutching at her heart.

He took her by the shoulders, "Stay calm, he may be developing powers we didn't foresee. He could be invisible or camouflaged or many other things. He could still be in the house, just playing with new powers." He let go of her yelling, "Mom! Rose! Maxi! Ken is missing, search the house, use all your sen—" he stopped, eyes widening. He walked to the crib, staring into it, "Oh no…" his eyes turned deep blue and he swept his hands over the bedding. They turned away from the crib and led him to the middle of the room. His eyes cleared and his face contorted in rage.

"He's been kidnapped!" He took out his cell and dialed his comrades barking out orders. He called in Grandpa Max, orders flowing quickly. Cooper was made to activate a hidden tracking device that had been implanted in the space between Ken's wings.

Even Julie was not safe from his ordering, "Stay here, Maxi can protect you, Rose, and my mom."

And he was gone. The girls came running, "Mom? What's wrong?" Maxine asked.

"Ken's missing," was all Julie said as she crossed the room to the closet. She knelt and retrieved a package from beneath her suitcase.

It was soft leather and held a black skin tight braced leather full body suit. The pommels of twin, dual wield, swords made of Versitium glistened in the lamp light. They were sheathed in lacquered black sheathes. A collapsed collapsible Versitium staff was also there, hidden in a leather boot. There was a leather pouch which, although the children didn't know this, contained several compacts of poisons. Rose and Maxine watched their mother slip into the suit, cross the sheathed swords upon her back, pull the boots on and tie the pouch to her side. The last thing she did was to take a small strip of scarlet cloth and tied her shoulder length hair into a high ponytail.

"Wow Mom," Rose spoke in a hushed voice, "you look just like a demon slayer!'

Julie gave a small smile, "I'm going to let you two in on a family secret; the slayers are real. My mother's family comes from a village that only taught girls; mother to daughter, aunt to niece, friend to friend. Each generation always produces at least one girl to carry on tradition. My grandmother began training me from the time I could crawl. My mother rejected her heritage so she wouldn't teach me. I rejected it too until very recently. Now you can't tell your father, he'll freak if he doesn't see me in action first."

"But demons aren't real!" Maxine protested before realization dawned, "Unless..."

"Go on." Julie encouraged.

"The demons were really just bad aliens!"

"Bingo baby." Julie prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Rose stopped her, "Haven't you forgotten what your grandmother taught you? Because you haven't practiced it for awhile?"

"Nope, kinda like riding a bike. Never really forget, it becomes instinctive." Julie opened a window, before going back to the bed and pulled a GPS device from the bedside table. Dialing in the code for Ken's implant a red blimp showed up on the map. She took a small remote from her pouch and pushed a big red button and the girls heard a roaring engine speed into the driveway before idling. The girls saw, out the open window, a sleek black and red motorcycle on the lawn beneath the window. Julie tucked both the remote and the GPS into the pouch before jumping agilely onto the window sill; she looked back at them, "Behave for Grandma Sandra, I love you two."

And she dived out the window, flipping in mid air to land on the cycle in the riding position. She turned the key and revved the engine before pealing out, tearing up grass, and down the road.

"I kinda feel sorry for whoever took Kenny," Maxine spoke with awe and fear.

Rose nodded in agreement.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch 14

Ben heard the clashing of swords and dashed forward into sight. There he saw a sight that stopped his heart. There, in the middle of the abandoned warehouse, Julie fought the powerbroker that had taken their baby boy.

Now powerbrokers were the scum of the alien underworld, they had no real powers themselves but commanded legions of bounty hunters who kidnapped beings with rare or odd abilities which the powerbroker in question would sell to the highest bidder. These bidders were power-stealers or energy-stealers like Mike Morningstar/Darkstar. The buyers would then take the power or energy they paid for and kill the being that originally had them. This powerbroker was an albino humanoid with red pupil-ed eyes. He was dressed in fine black robes and wielded a Versitium claymore against Julie's weapons. He easily had a foot maybe a foot and a half on her along with probably seventy to eighty pounds yet she was holding him off, putting him on the defensive.

She caught sight of him from the corner of her eye, "Ben, get Ken outta here!" she screeched and he saw his son in a small dog carrier, behind the enemy. He teleported himself there, picked up the carrier and teleported him out to Gwen and Kevin. Then giving them the order to get out of there, he headed back in just in time to see Julie's weapons go flying.

_**Clang. Clink. Clunk.**_

The two swords bounced several times, before landing the final time.

The heavy blade of her opponent's sword headed towards her neck yet she back-flipped out of the way, somehow managing to slip and un-collapse the staff from her boot, using it to block and land blows. She parried nimbly, making hits to the neck and spine that should've felled him.

Ben watched stunned as she displayed skills he would never have expected from her; she called out to him, "I'm a Slayer, Slayers are an earthly forerunner of the Plumbers. We originated from Japan of course and my mother's family hails from a village that only taught girls—Hold on—" she ducked and cartwheeled away, before continuing, "Each generation always has one girl at least to carry on tradition. Until recently I've reject my heritage but when I was young my grandmother taught me the trade." She stuck again and this time the being went down. She leant on her staff, wiping sweat from her face, "Wow, I'm so outta shape."

She looked to him, "I really am sorry I kept this from you, I just didn't want you to freak. Don't worry this is the first time I've actually used my skills for work. I do want to teach Rose the trade though. She needs to learn something, she doesn't have any active defensive or offensive powers…" the being groaned and Julie whacked the back of his head to make sure he stayed down.

"Can you cuff him?" she asked of Ben; he nodded, pulling Plumber energy cuffs from his pocket. He had to straddle the powerbroker's back to cuff him and then he opened a portal to the Void. He kicked the perp into the Void, the portal snapping shut as he looked to see her sheathing her swords and breaking down her blunt weapon. He shook his head.

----

It was the day of the big move. The second generation Tennyson family of Bellwood were moving into the newly finished Tennyson Estate (hey, he was still working on naming the place).

The four square miles were surrounded by what looked to be normal iron wrought gating but these gates put up an energy barrier. Situated on the land within was a manor with over a hundred forty rooms; some were bedrooms, some rooms were for entertaining of guests, some were studies, some bathrooms, a library, a couple kitchens (industrial grade of course) pantries, an indoor gym (outfitted with normal human gym equipment which had been upgraded by Cooper) with an Olympic sized pool. There was also, under the house, a dungeon with a Null Void generator and a panic room. Of course every doorway was at least nine feet high, five feet wide. This house was of course enormous and multiple stories tall. Also on the land were four medium-sized hangars, a couple small guest cottages, a few greenhouses (of both earthly and unearthly plants, though, as these were for Julie, they were all non-violent), a training area with addable and removable obstacles, a tennis court, and a small field where football or baseball could be played.

Of course this all drew on massive amounts of power but Cooper had taken care of that as well. The whole complex ran on nuclear fusion and had backup solar generators. And water was also self-sufficient, an underground river of freshwater having been found and tapped. Sewage was also taken care of on site, waste of any sort being incinerated and then the ashes being used in the greenhouses for fertilizer. The house also was fully furnished, by furniture-ware otherworldly.

Ben put the key into the lock and turned it, announcing, "Welcome home!" as the doors swung open. And the girls raced to their rooms, carrying their own bags, their parents chuckling. Ken was on Julie's back, in a carrier, and was looking around wildly. Even though he was only two months old he was as active as a one year old. Ben, as Fourarms, carried about ten or fifteen boxes. Julie carried five. The girls came racing back down, hands empty.

"Dad!" they shouted before wrapping their arms about his waist, "You're the best!"

He looked down at them, "This house is a gift, don't take it for granted. This whole complex doesn't make you better than anyone else or anything like that understand?"

They nodded, he grinned, "Now why don't you grab some of the bags?"

They nodded and ran out to the truck.

"C'mon," he rumbled, "I want to show you Kenny's room." he put the suitcases down and led her to an elevator that was tastefully hidden by a full-body length oil painting of Nike, goddess of victory.

He punched in the second floor and after a few seconds the doors opened again and they walked out. Another painting of Nike hid the entrance. He led her to a door that had, in bronze, Kenneth Donny Yamamoto Tennyson. He punched in a code on the security panel and the lock clicked open, He opened the door to show a large room. There was no bed of the human variety but a bowl- shaped depression in the floor lined with glittering crystals. There was however a cushion for the boy to sleep on in the bowl.

"Paradox says he grows to be quite powerful, those crystals will hopefully imbue or at least help him with certain qualities. As soon as he's old enough to be trained in those qualities these'll prepare him." Ben explained. He quickly took Ken from the carrier and set him on the floor. Immediately his wings pulled him from the ground and he floated around.

"Everything is flame-immune, it all can handle super-strength. Anything he throws at this room it can handle."

He looked at her, "Let's go see our room."

"Ken?"

"He's safe; the room has a monitoring system that'll keep him out of trouble."


	15. Chapter 15

Ch 15

It was the big day. There was a general air of a medieval fair about the whole day. Some minstrels sung of the bride's beauty, while others recited ballads of the groom's brave deeds. Plumbers, from across the galaxy, were in attendance; especially the mounted division who, although they were camouflaged and looked like normal earthly mounted police, drilled in a tight squadron. They carried the Plumber standard and the 'horses' all had the Plumber sigil branded on the left rump area of their pitch black hide. The 'human' Plumbers were of mixed skin colors.

There were heavenly aromas flitting through the air. A feast was being prepared. Dignitaries from hundreds of planets were also on site, camouflaged as humans. If fact the only true humans involved were; The Tennyson family-excluding Verdona of course, The Yamamoto family-excluding Kenny, and the bride herself.

The bride and groom were being prepped, in separate tents naturally, unnaturally calm they were.

It was poor Gwen who was frazzled; she had been chosen as the wedding planner, better to have an insider than an outsider, and this was the big day. It was sink or swim; there was almost no time to fix anything that went wrong. It would've been easier had it just been a small ceremony for family and close friends only. But noooo, her cousin just had to be an intergalactic hero to who's wedding hundreds of ambassadors just had to come. It would have been easier had Ben not wanted to give Julie her dream wedding even though the bride herself protested that she didn't need to have her dream wedding become reality.

So the redhead dashed around the complex in a pair of simple overalls, with a red plaid shirt, her auburn hair up in a messy bun. In her left arm was a clipboard, with pen attached, while in her right hand a walkie-talkie.

"Hey Coop." she called pressing down the button, "How's the banquet doing?"

She released the button for the reply.

"Fine, Skeet and Isa are continuously scanning for poisons."

Skeet and Isa were of course Cooper's robot drones.  
"The seating arrangements?"

"Mekt is handling that. Hold on, I'll check."

Mekt was another robot assistant.

"Going fine."

"Aren't you worried about giving these robots of yours so much AI?"

"No."

"Alright. Can you see if the priest arrived?"

"Right."

"Thanks." She sighed, heading to the humans.

----

Ben tugged slightly at his sleeve, but other than that he didn't move a muscle. He might have been dead for all the movement he made. But in actuality he was meditating, putting himself into a deep trance. It was in this trance that he extended his consciousness to envelope everything in a five mile radius. His breath was even, calm, slow. That morning he and Julie met with the dignitaries who had already arrived. He was sure she made a lasting impression on them for she had refused to just sit in the backgrounds of the talks. She had shown diplomatic savvy above what they had all expected. He chuckled, coming out of his trance, and stood up to stretch. Maxine and Rose were with Julie while Ken was with his grandparents, all of them. Even he, as young as he was, seemed aware of the importance of this day as he had not been fussy at all. Nor had he shied away from the ambassadors who wanted to meet him.

Kevin poked his head into the tent, "Showtime Ben."

----

Julie was in a cream colored ensemble. Instead of going for a classic gown, which could hinder her should she have to run or fight, She was wearing a two piece, the skirt was a rip-away skirt which she could pull off to reveal a pair of cream colored jeans. Instead of dangerous heels she wore cream colored tennis shoes. They had completely discarded the idea of a veil or fancy hairstyle. It just wasn't her, nor was it practical. On her hip she had a holster with an energy pistol while attached to her ankle was a dagger tipped in poison.

She too was calm, serene. She helped Maxine and Rose fix their outfits, light pink each. They went with the same outfit. They both were flower girls, each held a basket of mixed petals. The music started and Julie's father entered the tent. The girls hurried out leaving father and daughter alone.

Mr. Yamamoto had tears in his eyes as he looked at his little girl all grown up. He choked back a sob and pulled her in for a hug.

"Dad," she whispered, "don't cry, you're not losing me. You're just gaining a son and a few grandkids."

"I know," he sniffled, "I just can't believe how quickly this day has come. It seemed like only yesterday you were just learning to crawl." He planted a kiss on her forehead as their cue came.

He took her arm in his and escorted her out.

Hundreds of faces, most alien to her in more ways than one, turned to face her as their owners stood up. But she was only seeing Ben at that moment as she was the only thing he saw. They both only barely heard as her father gave her away and then as the priest recited his sermon. They said their parts automatically and the beings gathered there that day cheered as they sealed the deal with a kiss.

---

It was at the reception, during their first dance as man and wife, that Ben finally let her in on what her locket said. He explained that he needed to add a part. The returned from the dance floor and she handed him the locket watching as he opened it, took out the blue crystal that was the center and replaced with a clear crystal. The light that seemed to be raidiating from the crystals themselves took on a slow steady beat and the alien phrase morphed into English.

"Love Will Find A Way."

End.


End file.
